Jacobs and Jessops both started as cash chemists in Leicester. Jessops opened a big warehouse on Hinckley Road. To begin with there were service desks at the front, and the stock was hidden away. Later everything was opened up and they boasted it was the largest camera store in Europe. Anyone else remember those price lists printed in tiny typeface on huge(A2?) sheets? Later Jacobs gave chase, opening an even bigger shop on London Road (a far cry from their impossibly cramped and crowded basement in the town centre).
Very sorry for the staff affected.