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DSG International (retailer)
Encyclopedia
Dixons Retail plc is a British company and one of the largest consumer electronics
retailers in Europe. The company operates Dixons.co.uk as well as Dixons Travel, Currys
, Currys.digital
, PC World
and Electro World stores along with many other brands across Europe including: Pixmania
, Equanet
and Advent Computers.
The company, formerly known as Dixons Group plc and later DSG International plc, specialises in selling high technology consumer electronics products, audio-video equipment, PCs
, small and large domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communication products and related financial and after sales services (e.g. extended service agreements). They also sell other products and services such as electrical products, spares, repairs, mobile services, online digital photo processing, pre-recorded media and childcare equipment.
Dixons' main competitors are pan-European electrical retailer MediaMarkt, Best Buy Europe and Kesa Electricals plc, which owns Comet
and Darty
. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
.
Dixons Retail has started to re-brand all stores with 'The Tech Guys' to the new KNOWHOW format; the transformation is due to be completed by last quarter of 2011. All delivery centres, warehouses, repair centres and training centres have been rebranded and re-structured. KNOWHOW are now performing deliveries for Currys, Currys.Digital, PC World and Dixons. KNOWHOW will also take over the company's support and protection products 'Whatever Happens' and 'Instant Replacement'
and Michael Mindel in the High Street in Southend under the name of Dixons Studios Limited, a company registered in October 1937 with share capital of £100. The name Dixons, selected randomly from the telephone directory
, was sufficiently short to fit above the small shop front. During the early 1940s Dixons set up seven studios around London
but by the end of the War
the business was reduced to a single studio in Edgware
. Stanley Kalms
, the son of the founder, joined the business in 1948 and started advertising the Dixons products in the press.
In 1950 the company started selling cameras and in 1957 opened a new head office and buying centre in Edgware to accommodate the staff dealing with 60,000 mail order customers and to provide administrative back-up for its six stores.
Dixons was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1962 changing its name at that time to Dixons Photographic Limited. It bought out competitors, Ascotts, in 1962 and Bennetts, in 1964. In 1967 Dixons bought an 85000 sq ft (7,896.8 m²) colour processing laboratory in Stevenage
.
Charles Kalms was succeeded by his son Stanley in 1971. In 1972 Dixons acquired another competitor, Wallace Heaton
, and in 1974 it opened its Stevenage
distribution centre.
brand at Croydon
, Lakeside Shopping Centre
, Brentford
and Staples Corner
. Later that year the company sold VTG's mail order division, Dixons US Holdings Inc and Supasnaps.
It opened its first Tax Free store at Heathrow Terminal 3 in 1994 and then later that year launched The Link
, the company's first venture into communications. The Head office was moved to Hemel Hempstead
.
In 1996 DSG bought DN Computer Services, a computer reseller business. It also acquired the retail assets of Harry Moore Ltd, an Irish electrical retailer.
Cellnet bought a 40% stake in The Link in 1997. Also that year the Dixons website was launched.
In 1998 Freeserve
, a free internet service, was launched: it was later sold to France Telecom
and renamed Wanadoo
.
DSG bought Elkjøp ASA, a leading Nordic
retailer, in 1999.
service provider. DSG opened its first Electro World store in Hungary
.
Further expansion came in 2005 when DSG bought an interest in Eldorado Group, the largest electrical retailer in Russia
and Ukraine
, with an option to buy the rest by 2011 at a fixed price of $1.9 billion USD (£1 billion GBP). In 2006 DSG was awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise. The company announced that the Dixons brand would continue purely online
and that all high-street stores will be rebranded Currys.digital
. Dixons also bought 75% of Fotovista, a French
photographic business.
In January 2008 DSG announced that it would stop selling analogue TVs. Only Integrated Digital Televisions would be sold, in an effort to get consumers ready for the digital switchover. However, despite claiming they stopped selling analogue TVs, customers were able to purchase analogue TVs until September 2008 when current stock was cleared. In many cases, customers were sold a digital set top box when they purchased an analogue TV.
In May, Dixons announced that it would close 77 of its 177 UK Currys.digital shops as their building leases expire over the next five years. The reduction reflected the news that US Electrical rival Best Buy
was seeking to establish itself within the UK.
In May 2010 DSGi closed the technical call centre in Nottingham with over 450 redundancies
In May 2010 DSGi also secured exclusive rights to sell the Apple iPad
. In June 2010 DSGi changed its name to Dixons Retail.
PC Line was an own brand within PC World. It sold computer based items such as laptop bags, mice, keyboards, webcams, ink and blank discs. PC Line has now been phased out and rebranded as PC World Essentials, as Matsui has become Currys Essentials.
dock.
, desktop PCs
and tablet PC
s.
, England
. Dixons' second Black store opened in September 2011 in the new Westfield Stratford City, East London.
, Apple and TomTom
. It is said to be the biggest store owned by Dixons Retail plc. There are currently 26 Megastores, 18 of which are joint Megastores (see below), 7 are solely Currys Megastores and there is 1 PC World Megastore at Junction 9 (M6) in Birmingham.
. The company's primary market is white
and brown goods, but also sells small appliance
s, personal computer
s and mobile phone
s. Currys specialises in home electronics
and household
appliances. Currys is known for slogan "Currys, No Worries", but is now replaced by "We Can Help". Currys Sponsors The Simpsons
on Sky1 from 2009–present.
. DSG Ireland announced that they will not adopt the new Currys.digital branding for high-street stores, instead retaining the traditional Dixons branding, with Currys being used exclusively for large-format superstores. This decision was later reversed, and all Dixons stores have been rebranded to Currys, except the one in the Jervis Shopping Centre
, which became a PC World. Dixons have more or less brought their Ireland operations in line with the UK.
, Chesterfield
, and Manchester
, they are the outlet for clearance, pre-owned, damaged, and ex-repair stock from the Currys and PC World stores around the country and also Dixons.co.uk. A fourth store at Westfield Shopping Centre, Merryhill, closed in July 2011.
, Turkey
and Greece
.
In Hungary the first 43000 sq ft (3,994.8 m²) hyperstore opened in Budaörs
, a town in the Budapest
metropolitan area, in 2002. In the Czech Republic the first Electro World store opened in Praha Zlicin
in 2002. In Poland
the first Electro World store was opened in October 2005 at the Targowek
commercial centre in Warsaw
.
More stores have since opened in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. Electro World operates a Central Europe distribution centre just outside Brno
in the Czech Republic. The 28000 square feet (2,601.3 m²) warehouse is the largest warehouse for non-food goods in that country.
DSGi used to operate in Hungary and Poland, but has since withdrawn and sold all their ElectroWorld outlets. Electro World shops in Hungary were closed in 2011.
. Since September 2009 it also operates PC City as a Store-in-store franchise. As of 2009 PC City exist only in Greece (Athens) and they operate inside Kotsovolos stores.
("Electronics Giant") operates stores across Sweden
, Denmark
and the Faroe Islands
selling white goods, consumer electronics, Personal Computers, communications products and related services.
("Electronics Purchase") operates smaller, medium, big and XXL sized retail stores across Norway selling white goods, consumer electronics, Personal Computers, communications products and related services.
selling white goods, brown goods, consumer electronics, personal computers, communications products and related services.
selling white goods, brown goods, consumer electronics, Personal Computers, communications products and related services.
exists in continental Europe
as an extension of the PC World chain. Beginning with the acquisition of Ei System in Spain, the company has expanded over the years and now has a presence in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Sweden (website only). DSG closed its French stores in June 2007 and Spanish Stores in June 2011.
, near Manchester. It operates under the PC World Business. Macwarehouse and Equanet brands, offering dedicated business account managers. The Equanet brand itself offers highly-qualified technical experts to provide, manage and maintain business IT systems in the form of Equanet Managed Services (EMS - Formerly RITM). The company has specialist PC World Business Business Centres in each of more than two PC World stores across the country, offering immediate access to products. PC World Business sponsors the Daily Telegraph Business Club pages.
whateverhappens is currently run under the KnowHow Brand (Previously TechGuys) with primarily 2 levels of cover depending on where the product was purchased "Premier Club" and "Club".
businesses. A call centre
provided telephone and email support, and a team of technicians and engineers provided repairs to PCs and laptops on site, and made inspections for insurance companies. The business was rebranded and merged with The TechGuys in September 2006. From 2008 the majority of all commercial work has been outsourced.
The Link is a UK mobile phone retailer. In June 2006 DSG sold its whole interest to O2. DSG still honours all contracts that exist with The Link but are no longer seeking new business.
Freeserve
was purchased by France Télécom
, and rebranded as Wanadoo
. Wanadoo has since been rebranded again in the UK under the Orange
brand.
Freetalk was a failed Voice Over IP (VOIP) business.
Jakarta : For a few years during the late 1990s, DSG operated a chain of computer games shops, called Jakarta. They were in various high-traffic locations (such as Bluewater and Lakeside), but failed to get the market share deemed essential to keep the chain operating. It was closed down during the early 2000s
* The above trend profits for 2000 and 2001 were primarily attributable
to profits on disposal of Freeserve shares. +Pre stock split.
, Cardiff
, Leeds
, Thetford
, Spennymoor, Epsom
, Erith
, Plympton
, Southampton
and Perivale
: they are supplied by two main stock centres (hubs) in Newark on Trent and Avonmouth
. The second route, Customer Distribution Centres, supplies smaller items direct to customers by courier. Distribution to stores also happens via the same two routes.
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
retailers in Europe. The company operates Dixons.co.uk as well as Dixons Travel, Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
, Currys.digital
Currys.digital
Currys Digital is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom, that is owned by DSG International plc.With its origins in a photographic shop opened by Charles Kalms, the chain now has a store in most towns and cities across the UK and Ireland...
, PC World
PC World (retailer)
PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
and Electro World stores along with many other brands across Europe including: Pixmania
Pixmania
Pixmania is a European E-tailer of digital photography and consumer electronic goods. It trades in twenty-six countries through bespoke transactional websites...
, Equanet
Equanet
Equanetis a non-limited trading arm of DSGi Business, and is their specialist business to business reseller for large and medium sized managed customers and the public sector. Equanet claims to work closely with large and medium sized businesses and public sector partners to identify, develop and...
and Advent Computers.
The company, formerly known as Dixons Group plc and later DSG International plc, specialises in selling high technology consumer electronics products, audio-video equipment, PCs
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, small and large domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communication products and related financial and after sales services (e.g. extended service agreements). They also sell other products and services such as electrical products, spares, repairs, mobile services, online digital photo processing, pre-recorded media and childcare equipment.
Dixons' main competitors are pan-European electrical retailer MediaMarkt, Best Buy Europe and Kesa Electricals plc, which owns Comet
Comet Group Plc
Comet is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom, which is owned by OpCapita and a series of investors, after its sale by Kesa Electricals. The group was founded in 1933 by George Hollingberry in Hull as Comet Battery Stores Limited...
and Darty
Darty
Darty, founded in 1957 by the Darty family in France, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK-based KESA Electricals Plc specialising in Electrical retailing...
. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
Dixons Retail has started to re-brand all stores with 'The Tech Guys' to the new KNOWHOW format; the transformation is due to be completed by last quarter of 2011. All delivery centres, warehouses, repair centres and training centres have been rebranded and re-structured. KNOWHOW are now performing deliveries for Currys, Currys.Digital, PC World and Dixons. KNOWHOW will also take over the company's support and protection products 'Whatever Happens' and 'Instant Replacement'
Early years
Dixons was founded as a photographic studio by Charles KalmsCharles Kalms
Charles Kalms was a British retailer and founder of the Dixons chains that expanded to become the UK's largest electrical retail chain.-Career:Kalms opened the first Dixons photographic studio at 32 High Street, Southend-on-Sea...
and Michael Mindel in the High Street in Southend under the name of Dixons Studios Limited, a company registered in October 1937 with share capital of £100. The name Dixons, selected randomly from the telephone directory
Telephone directory
A telephone directory is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory...
, was sufficiently short to fit above the small shop front. During the early 1940s Dixons set up seven studios around London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
but by the end of the War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the business was reduced to a single studio in Edgware
Edgware
Edgware is an area in London, situated north-northwest of Charing Cross. It forms part of both the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Harrow. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
. Stanley Kalms
Stanley Kalms, Baron Kalms
Harold Stanley Kalms, Baron Kalms, Kt, is the life president and former chairman of DSG International plc . DSG owns Dixons.com, Currys, The Link and PC World outlets...
, the son of the founder, joined the business in 1948 and started advertising the Dixons products in the press.
In 1950 the company started selling cameras and in 1957 opened a new head office and buying centre in Edgware to accommodate the staff dealing with 60,000 mail order customers and to provide administrative back-up for its six stores.
Dixons was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1962 changing its name at that time to Dixons Photographic Limited. It bought out competitors, Ascotts, in 1962 and Bennetts, in 1964. In 1967 Dixons bought an 85000 sq ft (7,896.8 m²) colour processing laboratory in Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
.
Charles Kalms was succeeded by his son Stanley in 1971. In 1972 Dixons acquired another competitor, Wallace Heaton
Wallace Heaton
Wallace Heaton was a photographic retailer based in London and was trading independently from 1917 until 1972 when it was bought by Dixons. The company was originally set up by a Wallace Heaton, a pharmacist who opened his shop in New Bond Street; over time he moved his business from pharmacy to...
, and in 1974 it opened its Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
distribution centre.
1990s
In 1993 Dixons bought Vision Technology Group (VTG), operating under the PC WorldPC World (retailer)
PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
brand at Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Lakeside Shopping Centre
Lakeside Shopping Centre
The Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London...
, Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
and Staples Corner
Staples Corner
Staples Corner is a major road junction in London, United Kingdom.It has two linked roundabouts and flyovers, which connect the A406 North Circular Road with the A5 Edgware Road and the start of the M1 motorway...
. Later that year the company sold VTG's mail order division, Dixons US Holdings Inc and Supasnaps.
It opened its first Tax Free store at Heathrow Terminal 3 in 1994 and then later that year launched The Link
The Link (retailer)
The Link was an internet-based mobile phone and communications retailer in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Dixons Retail , the UK's largest consumer electronics retail group, and traded online through a dedicated retail website, which in addition to mobile phones also offered satellite...
, the company's first venture into communications. The Head office was moved to Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
.
In 1996 DSG bought DN Computer Services, a computer reseller business. It also acquired the retail assets of Harry Moore Ltd, an Irish electrical retailer.
Cellnet bought a 40% stake in The Link in 1997. Also that year the Dixons website was launched.
In 1998 Freeserve
Freeserve
Freeserve was a British Internet Service Provider, founded in 1998. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged into the Wanadoo group in 2000, itself a subsidiary of France Telecom...
, a free internet service, was launched: it was later sold to France Telecom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
and renamed Wanadoo
Wanadoo
Wanadoo is the former name of the ISP division of Orange SA, which is a subsidiary of France Télécom. It operated in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Mauritius, Madagascar, Lebanon, and Jordan...
.
DSG bought Elkjøp ASA, a leading Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
retailer, in 1999.
2000 to 2011
In 2002 DSG bought UniEuro, a leading Italian-based electrical retailer, and Genesis Communications, a mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
service provider. DSG opened its first Electro World store in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Further expansion came in 2005 when DSG bought an interest in Eldorado Group, the largest electrical retailer in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, with an option to buy the rest by 2011 at a fixed price of $1.9 billion USD (£1 billion GBP). In 2006 DSG was awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise. The company announced that the Dixons brand would continue purely online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
and that all high-street stores will be rebranded Currys.digital
Currys.digital
Currys Digital is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom, that is owned by DSG International plc.With its origins in a photographic shop opened by Charles Kalms, the chain now has a store in most towns and cities across the UK and Ireland...
. Dixons also bought 75% of Fotovista, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
photographic business.
In January 2008 DSG announced that it would stop selling analogue TVs. Only Integrated Digital Televisions would be sold, in an effort to get consumers ready for the digital switchover. However, despite claiming they stopped selling analogue TVs, customers were able to purchase analogue TVs until September 2008 when current stock was cleared. In many cases, customers were sold a digital set top box when they purchased an analogue TV.
In May, Dixons announced that it would close 77 of its 177 UK Currys.digital shops as their building leases expire over the next five years. The reduction reflected the news that US Electrical rival Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
was seeking to establish itself within the UK.
In May 2010 DSGi closed the technical call centre in Nottingham with over 450 redundancies
In May 2010 DSGi also secured exclusive rights to sell the Apple iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
. In June 2010 DSGi changed its name to Dixons Retail.
Currys/PC World Essentials
Matsui was DSG's Own brand of low-cost electronics sold exclusively in DSG's Outlets. Its range included TVs, DVD Players, Cables, White Goods and blank media. Matsui has now been rebranded as the Currys Essentials range, which offers basic appliances and gadgets for a low budget price.PC Line was an own brand within PC World. It sold computer based items such as laptop bags, mice, keyboards, webcams, ink and blank discs. PC Line has now been phased out and rebranded as PC World Essentials, as Matsui has become Currys Essentials.
Logik
Logik is another own-brand used by DSG on low-cost consumer electronics. Logik's product range includes Set top boxes, Cables, White Goods, TVs, MP3 Players and headphones. Logik was the first company to market a TV with a built in iPodIPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
dock.
IWANTIT
IWANTIT is an audio brand operated by Dixons Retail plc and makes electrical appliances such as earphones, radios and chargers.Advent
Advent is a computer brand operated by Dixons Retail plc and makes electrical appliances such as notebooksLaptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
, desktop PCs
Desktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
and tablet PC
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
s.
Goji
Goji is an additional brand which makes accessories such as iPad accessories, Laptop/Netbook Cases/Slipcases and HeadphonesSandstrøm
Sandstrøm is another own-brand used by DSG on higher class Electrical items. Sandstrøm's product range includes Vision Products, MDA, SKA and other CE ItemsBlack
Black is a high-end electronics retail store opened by Dixons in late 2010. The first main store was in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Dixons' second Black store opened in September 2011 in the new Westfield Stratford City, East London.
Currys Megastore
The biggest electrical retailer is now opening megastores for more of a massive range of products from the smallest items to the biggest. The biggest Currys Megastore is in West Thurrock - Currys Megastore - Lakeside Retail Park, West Thurrock, Grays, Essex RM20 1WN. It consists of two floors with rented floor space to other companies, such as BlackBerryBlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
, Apple and TomTom
TomTom
TomTom NV is a Dutch manufacturer of automotive navigation systems, including both stand-alone units and software for personal digital assistants and mobile telephones. It is the leading manufacturer of navigation systems in Europe. TomTom's customer service is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
. It is said to be the biggest store owned by Dixons Retail plc. There are currently 26 Megastores, 18 of which are joint Megastores (see below), 7 are solely Currys Megastores and there is 1 PC World Megastore at Junction 9 (M6) in Birmingham.
Currys PC World Megastore
There are now many joint Currys PC World Megastores in the UK. These include locations such as Bromborough, Glasgow Braehead, Teesside Park, Fulham, New Malden, Leeds, Mansfield, Coventry, Medway and Swansea. There are currently 18 joint Currys PC World Megastores with more opening across the country in 2011.Currys
Currys is the UK's largest electrical retailer. It also has stores in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The company's primary market is white
Major appliance
A major appliance, or domestic appliance, is usually defined as a large machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task, which includes purposes such as cooking, or food preservation, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting...
and brown goods, but also sells small appliance
Small appliance
Small appliance refers to a class of home appliances that are portable or semi-portable or which are used on tabletops, countertops, or other platforms in the United States of America...
s, personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. Currys specialises in home electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
and household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
appliances. Currys is known for slogan "Currys, No Worries", but is now replaced by "We Can Help". Currys Sponsors The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
on Sky1 from 2009–present.
Currys Digital
Currys Digital is the rebranded name for Dixons retail outlets in the UK (excluding Ireland and the Dixons Travel stores operating in UK airports). Currys Digital is branded as a specialist division of Currys aimed at technology-focused consumers with a product range including cameras, personal computers, audio and video equipment.Currys & PC World
A combined-format store is now being rolled out which combines a selection of home electrical and appliances from the Currys range alongside a selection of computers and related equipment from the PC World chain. The first trial store was opened in 2008 in Weybridge, Surrey. The stores in this chain are primarily Currys and Currys Digital stores which have been refurbished, replanned and rebranded to the new format There were, a number of stores which were PC World stores before the combined format was introduced. These include Staines and Tottenham Court Road.Dixons Travel
Dixons Travel is the number one technology retailer in UK’s airports, with a total of 31 stores in the UK and Europe.DSG Ireland
DSG Ireland has stores in major cities of the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. DSG Ireland announced that they will not adopt the new Currys.digital branding for high-street stores, instead retaining the traditional Dixons branding, with Currys being used exclusively for large-format superstores. This decision was later reversed, and all Dixons stores have been rebranded to Currys, except the one in the Jervis Shopping Centre
Jervis Shopping Centre
The Jervis Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre in Dublin, Ireland. Opened in 1996, the centre is located in the area bordered by Jervis Street, Upper Abbey Street, Mary Street, and Liffey Street. -History:...
, which became a PC World. Dixons have more or less brought their Ireland operations in line with the UK.
Electrical Clearance Store
Currently with three stores, in ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, they are the outlet for clearance, pre-owned, damaged, and ex-repair stock from the Currys and PC World stores around the country and also Dixons.co.uk. A fourth store at Westfield Shopping Centre, Merryhill, closed in July 2011.
Electro World
Electro World is DSG's chain of electrical superstores in the Czech RepublicCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
In Hungary the first 43000 sq ft (3,994.8 m²) hyperstore opened in Budaörs
Budaörs
Budaörs is a city in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. The town has a large German-speaking minority who call it Wudersch...
, a town in the Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
metropolitan area, in 2002. In the Czech Republic the first Electro World store opened in Praha Zlicin
Zličín
Zličín is a district and cadastral area in the west of Prague, located in an administrative district of the same name, which is part of Prague 5 in the old system and governs the cadastral areas Zličín, Sobín and the northern part of Třebonice...
in 2002. In Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
the first Electro World store was opened in October 2005 at the Targowek
Targówek
Targówek is a district in Warsaw, Poland located in the northern part of the city.It is divided into two parts: residential and industrial. About 30% of the district's area is covered by municipal parks, such as Lasek Bródnowski, Park Bródnowski and Park Wiecha in the eastern part of the district...
commercial centre in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
More stores have since opened in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. Electro World operates a Central Europe distribution centre just outside Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in the Czech Republic. The 28000 square feet (2,601.3 m²) warehouse is the largest warehouse for non-food goods in that country.
DSGi used to operate in Hungary and Poland, but has since withdrawn and sold all their ElectroWorld outlets. Electro World shops in Hungary were closed in 2011.
Partmaster
Partmaster is a specialist retailer of spares, consumables and accessories for brown and white goods with over 21 years experience in retailing electrical products. It stocks over 1 million lines.Κωτσόβολος (Kotsovolos)
Kotsovolos is an electrical retailer in GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since September 2009 it also operates PC City as a Store-in-store franchise. As of 2009 PC City exist only in Greece (Athens) and they operate inside Kotsovolos stores.
Elgiganten
ElgigantenElgiganten
Elgiganten is an electrical retailer located in Finland, Denmark and Sweden.The stores are a brandname of Elkjøp owned by the British Dixons Retail plc.Managing Director of Elgiganten is Jesper Boysen ....
("Electronics Giant") operates stores across Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
selling white goods, consumer electronics, Personal Computers, communications products and related services.
Elkjøp
ElkjøpElkjøp
Elkjøp is the largest electrical retailer in the Nordic countries, with over 264 stores across six countries and 6000 employees. It is owned by Dixons Retail....
("Electronics Purchase") operates smaller, medium, big and XXL sized retail stores across Norway selling white goods, consumer electronics, Personal Computers, communications products and related services.
Gigantti
Gigantti ("Gigant") operates retail stores across FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
selling white goods, brown goods, consumer electronics, personal computers, communications products and related services.
Lefdal Lavpris
Lefdal Lavpris operates larger retail stores across NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
selling white goods, brown goods, consumer electronics, Personal Computers, communications products and related services.
UniEuro
UniEuro operates stores mostly in the north west and north east of Italy. The stores sell a mixture of high technology consumer electronics, personal computers, domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communication products and related services.DSG Insurance Services
DSG Insurance Services issues insurance companies with gift cards with which their customers can purchase replacement goods covered under insurance agreements.DSGI Sourcing
DSGI Sourcing provides sourcing services for key customers. They are based in Hong Kong.PC World
PC World is a specialist chain of computer superstores. There are over 160 stores in the UK (excluding joint Currys PC World Stores) and 12 in the Republic of Ireland. All stores have a dedicated PC World Business Centre and all have a Tech Guys Service desk, rebranding to KNOWHOW starts May 2011PC City
PC CityPC City
PC City is a chain of computer superstores that operates in Spain and Italy. It is owned and operated by Dixons Retail plc, and is equivalent to the PC World brand which operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland. PC City has the same logo as PC World except it reads "PC City" instead of "PC World"...
exists in continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
as an extension of the PC World chain. Beginning with the acquisition of Ei System in Spain, the company has expanded over the years and now has a presence in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Sweden (website only). DSG closed its French stores in June 2007 and Spanish Stores in June 2011.
DSGI Business
DSGI Business is a specialist provider of IT solutions to business and the public sector. The main operation is based in BuryBury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, near Manchester. It operates under the PC World Business. Macwarehouse and Equanet brands, offering dedicated business account managers. The Equanet brand itself offers highly-qualified technical experts to provide, manage and maintain business IT systems in the form of Equanet Managed Services (EMS - Formerly RITM). The company has specialist PC World Business Business Centres in each of more than two PC World stores across the country, offering immediate access to products. PC World Business sponsors the Daily Telegraph Business Club pages.
DSG Business Services
DSG Business Services sells goods to major customers and provides an account management system for them.Genesis
Genesis Communications is the UK's largest independent mobile service provider, operating in the business to business sector. It has partnerships with the UK's major mobile networks and offers a full wireless service, including hardware, customer account management and billing. Genesis is also the UK's leading supplier of wireless data services to the SME market, including 3G and Blackberry solutions.Pixmania
Pixmania is a pan-European e-commerce retailer. It is present in 26 countries and boasts 7 million clients in Europe. Besides the possibility to shop online the clients can shop and pick up their products directly from Pixmania showrooms (Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, Rennes, Brussels, Milan, Torino, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and Porto).whateverhappens
whateverhappens is the successor of Coverplan. Currys stopped selling Coverplan in 2005, launching whateverhappens as its replacement. The product support is offered on most electrical purchases from Currys, Currys.digital and PC World, and over three million agreements have been sold.whateverhappens is currently run under the KnowHow Brand (Previously TechGuys) with primarily 2 levels of cover depending on where the product was purchased "Premier Club" and "Club".
Fotovista
Fotovista is a French photographic business founded as Studio National in 1970 by brothers Pierre and Jean-Emile Rosenblum.Former business brands and companies
Mastercare Commercial Services offered IT services to ITInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
businesses. A call centre
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
provided telephone and email support, and a team of technicians and engineers provided repairs to PCs and laptops on site, and made inspections for insurance companies. The business was rebranded and merged with The TechGuys in September 2006. From 2008 the majority of all commercial work has been outsourced.
The Link is a UK mobile phone retailer. In June 2006 DSG sold its whole interest to O2. DSG still honours all contracts that exist with The Link but are no longer seeking new business.
Freeserve
Freeserve
Freeserve was a British Internet Service Provider, founded in 1998. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged into the Wanadoo group in 2000, itself a subsidiary of France Telecom...
was purchased by France Télécom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
, and rebranded as Wanadoo
Wanadoo
Wanadoo is the former name of the ISP division of Orange SA, which is a subsidiary of France Télécom. It operated in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Mauritius, Madagascar, Lebanon, and Jordan...
. Wanadoo has since been rebranded again in the UK under the Orange
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
brand.
Freetalk was a failed Voice Over IP (VOIP) business.
Jakarta : For a few years during the late 1990s, DSG operated a chain of computer games shops, called Jakarta. They were in various high-traffic locations (such as Bluewater and Lakeside), but failed to get the market share deemed essential to keep the chain operating. It was closed down during the early 2000s
Financial results
The following table shows the Company's financial results:| Fiscal Year | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year End Date | 01/05/10 | 02/05/09 | 03/05/08 | 28/04/07 | 29/04/06 | 30/04/05 | 01/05/04 | 03/05/03 | 27/04/02 | 28/04/01 | 29/04/00 | 01/05/99 | 02/05/98 |
| Turnover £ 000,000 | 8,531.6 | 8,227.0 | 8,545.9 | 7,929.7 | 7,072.0 | 6,982 | 6,491 | 5,750.5 | 4,888.2 | 4,688.2 | 3,889.9 | 3,156.3 | 2,791.9 |
| Profit before tax £ 000,000 | 112.7 | (140.4) | (192.8) | 295.1 | 302.9 | 336.8 | 366.2 | 278.6 | 282.3 | 647.1 |
472.1 |
231.3 | 213.3 |
| Profit for the period £ 000,000 | 57.3 | (219.3) | (259.7) | 2.4 | 211.7 | 243.1 | 289.4 | 207.8 | 211.2 | 602.6 | 413.7 | 186.2 | 166.4 |
| Basic eps Earnings per share Earnings per share is the amount of earnings per each outstanding share of a company's stock.In the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires companies' income statements to report EPS for each of the major categories of the income statement: continuing operations,... (p British One Penny coin The British decimal one penny coin, produced by the Royal Mint, was issued on 15 February 1971, the day the British currency was decimalised. In practice, it had been available from banks in bags of £1 for some weeks previously... ) |
1.7 | (10.2) | (14.5) | 10.9 | 11.7 | 12.6 | 14.4 | 10.7 | 11.0 | 31.5 | 22.5 | 41.1+ | 36.9+ |
to profits on disposal of Freeserve shares. +Pre stock split.
Distribution
In the UK, distribution is by two different routes. The Home Delivery Centres (previously known as X-Docks) supply larger items throughout the country. These centres are at AvonmouthAvonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
, Spennymoor, Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, Erith
Erith
Erith is a district of southeast London on the River Thames. Erith's town centre has undergone a series of modernisations since 1961.-Pre-medieval:...
, Plympton
Plympton
Plympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton St Mary or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and Perivale
Perivale
Perivale is a small suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, west of Charing Cross, central London. Landmarks in the suburb include the A40, a large road that connects Central London with the M40 motorway, and the large Art Deco Hoover Building, as well as St Mary's Church , the River Brent and...
: they are supplied by two main stock centres (hubs) in Newark on Trent and Avonmouth
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...
. The second route, Customer Distribution Centres, supplies smaller items direct to customers by courier. Distribution to stores also happens via the same two routes.