[SIZE=4][B]The demise of Jacobs is symptomatic of the relentless decline of camera retailers in the UK[/B][/SIZE]

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The UK's Jacobs photographic retail chain has been desperately looking for a new owner since it went into administration a few weeks ago. The sad news today is that no lifeline has been thrown to the company and after over 60 years in photographic retail it is the end of Jacobs and its 12 retails stores. 11 stores are to close immediately, with the loss of 87 jobs. The head office and store in Leicester, where Cecil Jacobs originally expanded his pharmacy business in to photographic retail in the late 1940s, will remain operational for a period in order to liquidate stock.

[B]The thin end of the wedge?[/B]

Jacobs is the largest UK photographic retail chain to have gone under in recent times. Its main rival, Jessops - another firm that originated in Leicester - recently published a bullish statement to accompany its financial results, but the fact remains that Jessops, a much larger company with over 200 stores and over 1,000 staff, is also under under financial pressure having lost �12m last year and just under �1m this year. Last month it was reported that Canon was considering a �10 million cash injection for Jessops.

Jessops is bullish because it's profitability is improving, but that's only because the company managed to increase its online sales by almost 100%. Jessops has invested heavily in both stores and its ecommerce system, but the growth is predominantly in the latter. Jessops has already closed four stores this year because they were unprofitable. The question has to be asked - how many more will go over the medium to long term period. The company's recent grand opening of its refurbished New Oxford Street store is one thing, but how much longer can its regional high street stores survive?

We, the customers, want the best possible prices and in general the high street finds it difficult to deliver this. What's even more bizarre is that retailers' websites often compete with their high street stores, offering online exclusives - both in terms of availability and price. At least with Jessops you can collect online orders from your local Jessops store.

Even worse for traditional retailers unable to compete on price, they now routinely do part of the selling for their online competitors as unrepentant customers get equipment demos from high street retailers and then go on to order from the cheapest online supplier.

Jacobs had a reputation for attractive prices, but it would seem that in the end it could not square the circle of running its business and maintaining adequate profit margins.

It's difficult to see how the traditional high street camera shop can survive.