Currys Digital
 |
|
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom |
|
Key people
|
Nick Wilkinson (managing director) |
| Products | White goods, Telecommunications, Information technology |
| Parent | Dixons Carphone |
Currys Digital is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom owned by Dixons Carphone. 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 Republic of Ireland. The chain was formerly known as Dixons until 2006, when parent company DSG International announced they were moving away from the Dixons brand, except in Ireland and UK airports.
The first Dixons store was opened by Charles Kalms in Southend as a photographic studio in 1937. The business flourished during the Second World War, as there was much demand for photographic services and family portraits. By the end of the war Kalms had opened seven more studios in the London area. Unfortunately for Kalms, the demands for portrait services decreased considerably after the war, and he was forced to close all but one studio in Edgware, North London. There are now more than 30 stores across the United Kingdom and more than 7,000 staff working for DSGI.
The retailer has long suffered the reputation that its staff are unhelpful.
In November 1998 Dixons came under fire because of the prices it was charging for personal computers. Peter Mandelson said he was worried that consumers were getting a 'raw deal' because of the store's dominant position in the market. Intel's chief executive at that time, Craig Barrett, said that Dixons charges "ridiculous margins". The Intel Architecture Business Group said "Dixons has classic channel presence and can determine what gets sold at what price." Dixons responded that it could not make sense of the comments. The Consumers' Association said "Dixons controls over half of the high street distribution of PCs and they seem to be using this enormous market power to keep prices to consumers high" and has a "monopoly position in the high street". Criticism continued into 2000 when competitor John Lewis, with the support of two members of parliament, accused Dixons of stifling competition in the market by striking anti-competitive deals with suppliers.
The retail chain was criticised by the Consumers' Association in 2003 for the way staff pressured customers (through "dodgy sales tactics" and "dubious practices") into purchasing poor value extended warranties, an issue which was widely reported in the press, with Dixons facing particular criticism by virtue of supplying one-in-four of all extended warranties accounting for 40% of the store's profits.
...
Wikipedia