Dixons buoyed by Currys performance
Electrical retailer Dixons today said continued strong performances by its Currys and PC World chains left it well placed for a year of progress.
Dixons employs some 35,000 staff at more than 1,350 stores across the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Nordic countries.
The UK-based group said the chains helped increase like-for-like sales in the UK by 7% in the 18 weeks to September 4, although international sales were flat.
Dixons-branded stores, which are facing large-scale closures due to disappointing sales, also showed “encouraging signs” of recovery.
Earlier this year Dixons announced the closure of 106 unprofitable stores after bringing in a new management team to reverse flagging sales.
Chief executive John Clare told the group’s annual meeting: “While it is too early to extrapolate these trends for the balance of the year, the group is well placed for a year of progress.”
Flat screen televisions, PCs and laptops were among the top performers across the group, while back-to-school products have also been selling well.
Total group sales rose by 8% in the 18 week period, and were up 5% on a like-for-like basis, after stripping out store openings and closures.
Strong performances from the retailer’s largest chains, Currys and PC World, helped UK sales, while mobile phone business The Link continued to perform well.
However, like-for-like international sales were flat after the company was hit by new store openings, particularly in developing markets.
Analysts at Investec Securities said the strong UK figures provided some comfort against the international performance, but were probably boosted by Euro 2004.
They said major football tournaments usually helped Dixons sales and had probably contributed 2% of the increase.
“This means underlying performance is nevertheless still healthy, with Currys and PC World sales said to be good,” they added.
