Dragons' Den star Peter Jones all set to breathe new life into Jessops
Peter Jones, the star of the BBC's Dragons' Den series, is to relaunch the camera specialist Jessops on the high street today after buying its brand and assets out of administration in January.
The Dragon, who will be chairman and chief executive, will reopen the flagship store on Oxford Street in London and five other former shops in Manchester, Birmingham, High Wycombe, St Albans and Aberdeen. He is also relaunching the website.
A further 30 shops will reopen in April. But Mr Jones, who has invested £5m in the business, does not plan to have more than 50 shops: "I am not seeking to build this into an enormous business."
Mr Jones said it would be possible to pick up online orders in the shops, a model he believes Amazon will eventually follow. He said: "Amazon will start to feel the pain of not having a collect in store model. I can see Amazon going into retail [shops]."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies