The Link (retailer)
Mobile Technology First
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| Industry | Mobile phone retailer |
|---|---|
| Fate | Stores: Renamed (2006); Web: Closed (2010) |
| Successor | O2 (retail stores) |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Defunct | June 21, 2006 (stores); September 2010 (internet) |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Mobile Phones, Mobile Broadband, Mobile Services & Portable Consumer Electronics |
| Parent | Dixons Retail |
The Link was an internet-based mobile phone and communications retailer in the United Kingdom. It was owned by Dixons Retail (known currently as Dixons Carphone, formerly DSG International), the United Kingdom's largest consumer electronics retail group, and traded online through a dedicated retail website, which in addition to mobile phones also offered satellite navigation systems and broadband internet services.
The brand was previously used for a chain of mobile phone retail stores which were 60% owned by DSGi, and 40% owned by O2, the telecommunications company. At the time of The Link's retail store operation, O2 was a subsidiary of BT Group, but the network is now owned by Telefónica of Spain.
In June 2006, the retail store network was taken over by O2; The Link's website, which remains owned by DSG, continued to trade independently of the stores.
In September 2010, The Link website went offline, and ceased taking new orders, directing customers to visit the site of sister firm Currys; however, the site also provided details of customer service contacts for prior customers of The Link.
DSG International opened the first branch of The Link in 1994 due to the demand for mobile phones and other communications products. DSG International also sells mobile phones in its Currys Digital (formerly Dixons) and Currys chains, but opened a separate chain to provide more capacity for the growth in mobile phone sales.
By August 2005, there were 295 branches of The Link, spread across the United Kingdom. The Link's annual sales in 2004–05 were £428M.
Nick Wood, who as managing director of The Link had overseen the unit's growth, was subsequently moved across DSGi to take over the running of the then-struggling Dixons chain. After substantially turning around the fortunes of Dixons, he was brought back to The Link to replace his own replacement, Elizabeth Fagan, after the comparatively poorer performance of The Link under her management. Wood quickly made his mark, applying an easier to understand commission structure, placing "live" models of phones in stores, and expanded the product range to include MP3 players and Satellite navigation systems.
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