SHOP workers at Jessops at Merry Hill face an uncertain future after the national camera retailer went into administration.

Jessops, which has a store on the upper mall at Merry Hill opposite Marks & Spencer’s homeware outlet, appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as administrators yesterday (Wednesday January 9) and staff heard store closures would be “inevitable”.

A statement released by PwC said the retailer’s core market had seen a “significant decline” in 2012 and the run-up to Christmas. Rob Hunt, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “Our most pressing task is to review the company's financial position and hold discussions with its principal stakeholders to see if the business can be preserved.”

He said trading would continue in the meantime but Jessops would not honour customer vouchers or accept returned goods.

Jessops operates from 192 stores across the UK – and has around 2,000 employees.