[axl]

I've never seen any Pentax products in their shops anyway...
So now it's kinda official - what difference will it make?

couldn't agree more here, 8/10 times I went to any Jessops and asked about Pentax I got only grin from salesfolks, the other 2 cases, they would have 2 bodies with kit lenses and flashgun...

I suggest all the UK Pentaxians write Jessops a polite letter to tell them they will be taking their business elsewhere... and explain why...

No point here, even if we managed to pursuade them to stock Pentax again, we wouldn't buy anything there simply because we can get it cheaper in other places...

Certainly the implication from the dpreview posters was that Sony is paying Jessops for the space - indeed, there was earlier speculation that a partnership with an SLR maker could save the chain.
.....

would explain why every camera shop in London (jessops, jacobs whatever else of a decent size on the main road) has suddenly big lightshelves with proudly displaying all DSLR bodies, handfull of lenses flashguns, etc... quite sad

I don't think Jessops have had much of a reputation in the UK, they've always been over-priced and displayed a lack of even the most basic photographic knowledge, and from what I've read on generic forums this seems to apply regardless of brand of your camera.
.....

they praise themselves as biggest high street camera retailer, but their staff training is generaly poor. You may get few people who actually are able to talk to you abuot cameras (regardless brand) but most of them just rattles off list of features they memorised on training sessions and if you ask them any other question you get: hm..... I don't actually know... and then it'll take one long nasty stare to get them go and check it for you...

I may be way off-beam here, but I'd invite comment from UK users regarding the price of Pentax gear in the UK relative to US and other countries - my understanding is that UK Pentaxians pay much more than folks elsewhere.
Then you have the Jessops profit margin on top of this...... Oh, well, not any more.

I was shouting it out loud how unfair the prices are. Not even compared directly to US prices, but compared to monthly after tax income of average individual like me, to explain: if I wanted DA*16-50 & 50-135 combo I'd have very few pennies left from my monthly wages...

On the positive note, because Jessops is discontinuing Pentax gear they are selling it for loooooooooow prices. I was able to get D-BG2 for £60! Brand new, with 1year warranty, box etc... And I know about store that's holding one last FA31ltd. Shelf price £699 I was offered £500!!! Unfortunately it's still out of my pocket depth these days and after trying it on my camera it didn't amaze me as much as my DA40ltd. But if anybody would be interested, contact me I'll let you know which store is it...

BR

[Ray Woolley]

I buy mounting boards from Jessops for competitions but hardly ever anything of value. The staff I have encountered are not very knowledgeable and there are other great companies in the UK for Pentax such as SRS Microsystems and Devon Camera.
I will avoid Jessops if they choose to ignore a great brand! If you look on their website, they do not mention either Pentax of Samsung DSLRs. But it is a worry. I am committed to pentax and have built up kit over the years. I hope that Pentax will start to market their excellent products more effectively in the UK. With the £/foreign currency rate being so poor, all far eastern manufacturers will struggle here. Time for Pentax to step up to the mark!

[Spongefingers]

And to quote Amateur Photographer's article:
The review has seen Jessops cut its compact camera range from 150 to 50.
So that's even less choice from them now. Sizing down with the economy, I reckon.
They say they'll be stocking more DSLRs now, but I reckon less people will want to splash out on one, considering the looming reluctance of British wallets to open wide (and the Damoclean scissors to close in on the credit cards.)

I also wonder many more outlets Jessops will close over the next 12 months... Time will tell.