Manchester shoppers keep faith in high street as Jessops enters administration

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/10/manchester-shoppers-high-street-jessops

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In the Manchester city centre branch of Jessops on Thursday Alec and Kath Drummond were having a browse. They had needed a battery for his new camcorder, which he had bought just the other week.

Alec, a retired wedding photographer, had not bought the camera at Jessops, which announced on Wednesday it is going into administration. "I tried Jessops but they didn't have what I wanted – everything seemed automatic, whereas I wanted manual controls – so I went on the internet. I looked for an independent camera shop and there were only about six in a 40-60 mile radius of our house. Very sad. I ended up going to John Lewis. Excellent service and they even gave me a discount, with a £50 cashback voucher."

The Drummonds had only really come into Manchester to take something back: a swimming costume for Kath that she had bought online at Bravissimo . "The problem was, on the internet you could only see the front view," said Kath, "and when I tried it on, oh dear. The back was not suitable for someone of my age. You'd have needed a forklift truck to get me in there." Kath is 65. She noticed Bravissimo accepted returns in-store, so she and her husband used their bus passes to travel from Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan. "They were so helpful in the shop, and I ended up buying a costume I wouldn't otherwise have considered. It's the personal touch I like."

Justine Mutombo, a Parisian transplanted to Manchester, said she'd had bad experiences shopping online for clothes. "You can't tell the quality from a picture," she said, her child's buggy filled with Debenhams bags.

Leaning on a stick in Market Street, Peter Young, 80, said it was sad that chains such as Jessops were going under, but it was no surprise. "I buy all sorts online," he said. "Cameras, lenses. It's much cheaper." Manchester city centre still felt vibrant, he said, unlike Droylsden, the town where he lived. "In my local area shops are closing down like billyo. It's like a ghost town. We used to have a Comet, but of course that has gone now too."

Jan, a 40-year-old librarian, said she missed Woolies. "It's a nostalgic thing – one of those shops that was there during my childhood with a variety of useless plastic things you just can't get anywhere else. It had had its day, though."

Many shoppers said they were much more selective these days about which high street shops they visited, favouring the ones with the best customer service. Deepanker Lamba, 20, a student from Mumbai, who was wearing shorts and no coat despite the Mancunian January ("I just love the cold! It's so hot back home"), said he only shopped for expensive things in person "because they can give me a warranty and a receipt. I worry about that when I'm shopping online. I got my MacBook from the store, I didn't order it online. In the store they have people to help you out."

The Apple store got a thumbs up from Dereck Tate, 63, a magistrate from Bolton. "I enjoy shopping in Apple because you get such a good service. The set-up is far better than PC World and places like that. For me Apple gets full marks."

He'd popped into Jessops after hearing the news, but walked out empty-handed. "I was expecting a fantastic bargain but there's nothing actually outstanding."