Ireland is vital part of DSG's strategy

15-05-2008

by Billy MacInnes

DSG International has identified Ireland as a key market for growth as part of a five-point plan to renew and transform the group's business going forward.

The five-point plan from the owner of Dixons, PC World and Currys accompanied a trading statement which revealed an 8 percent growth in sales across the group for the 53 weeks ending 3 May 2008 with gross margins down 0.7 percent. Profits are expected to be in the region of STG200 million.

Chief executive John Browett admitted the trading environment remained challenging for the group, "particularly in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Spain. Customers have become increasingly promotion and deal driven, impacting gross margins".

He added: "The economic backdrop makes it difficult to forecast business performance and we remain very cautious about consumer confidence in many of our markets."

Ireland was highlighted as one of the four territories in DSG International's (DSGi) five-point plan under the heading of 'Focus the portfolio on winning positions'.

DSGi claimed to be "the number one electrical retailer on the internet in Europe" with STG1 billion in sales. The internet market expected to grow to around 30 percent of the electricals market over the next few years, through a combination of pure-play and multi-channel. Pixmania, the DSGi pure-play website, is available in Ireland, but the lack of a website for Dixons or PC World could become a more pressing issue.

A spokeswoman told ENN the company would introduce websites in Ireland in the future but was unable to say when.

DSGi also revealed plans to trial a new store format for PC World in the UK in time for Christmas 2008 in a bid to make it "the destination for computing and new technology digital products and services". If successful, the trials could be rolled out across the business, including in Ireland.

In the UK, DSGi intends to close 77 of its 177 Currys.digital stores over the next four to five years and replace white goods, small kitchen appliances and personal care products with a greater range of laptops, televisions and other digital products and a much greater depth of accessories.