Retail Week report Jessops going into administration.

I hear you on the point about the JCP and the batteries, and the reason she may have been a bit pushy about it is that yes, like a lot of retail, she will have been monitored on her performance for those things. If we're offering a great price on the grip, chances are, that those are where the profit for the sale would be, and it is profit that keeps a company going, not sales volume.

Now I don't know about this girl that served you, but generally the reason we will be a little insistent about the JCP (it isn't a warranty, so I'm not going to call it such) is that it can, and for the vast majority of our customers does, offer good value. But people are so dead set against "extended warranties" that the cover will get dismissed out of hand, even when it offers something better than a warranty, and it does. A LOT of staff will have this cover on their hardware (we don't get a discount on the cover either, we pay the same for it as you guys), so we feel pretty strongly, sometimes evangelical about it, but I know that it has saved my ass three times before, and I try and pass that info on to my customers.

As for who is our market? Thats a tough one to call. I'm pretty sure we've been aware of the decline in the compact market, and while we still stock some cheap point and shoots, the more expensive models (about a hundred and fifty pounds upwards) that DO offer something more than a camera phone do get more shelf space these days. Ideally our market would be the enthusiast, but so many enthusiasts have had a negative experience at some point, and don't come back, which is a shame, because I still believe that we offer something that buying online can't, and to the people who say "I'm willing to pay a premium for buying in a bricks and mortar store", I would say that now more than ever would be the time to put their money where their mouthes are.