By Julian Whittle

Last updated at 12:50, Saturday, 12 January 2013

The Jessops photographic store in Carlisle is to close.

Administrators in charge of the stricken chain have ordered the closure of all Jessops shops.

The branch in Devonshire Street is among 187 that will shut over the next few days.

Nearly 1,400 staff are to lose their jobs and more job cuts will follow at Jessops’ head office in Leicester.

Edward Williams, Rob Hunt and Matthew Hammond of PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed joint administrators on Wednesday.

Mr Hunt said: “We have reviewed the position of the business and held extensive discussions with suppliers around their support for ongoing trading.

“It is apparent that we cannot continue to trade and, as a result, we have had to make the difficult decision to begin the closure of all stores.”

Stock will be collected over the coming days and returned to a central warehouse. The administrators say that the shops are no longer able to accept vouchers or returned goods from customers.

Mr Hunt added: “This is an extremely sad day for Jessops and its employees.”

The company, which dates from 1935, is Britain’s only specialist national camera retailer.

Jessops has suffered in recent years from online competition and the boom in camera phones, which hit demand for digital cameras. It underwent a major overhaul in 2007 when there was a swathe of store closures, including a second Carlisle branch in English Street.

Insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor predicted last month that up to 140 retailers were at risk of collapse in the first quarter of 2013.

First published at 12:48, Saturday, 12 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk