PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
DSGi has revealed that as many as 50 Currys megastores could be rolled out over the next couple of years, and its High Street presence could be reduced to just 100 stores.
The retailer said in a statement to the City today that it believed there was room in the market for around 50 of its 50,000 sq ft+ stores, just a day after PC Retail revealed that the firm was considering rolling out a further five this year.
It also detailed the progress of its transformation plan, with the retailer revealing a total of 13 Currys superstores, four Currys.digital, 41 PC World superstores and its Currys megastore had been converted to its new store formats.
Of the stores that had been converted to the new format, it said that profit margins were up by as much as 50 per cent.
It also revealed that PC World as a whole had seen a lift of ten per cent, with those stores in the renewal and transformation programme seeing increases in profitability of up to 25 per cent.
"The past ten months have been a period of intense activity for the group, and the results of our new formats show that our plans are working," claimed chief executive John Browett (pictured). "The store transformation programme in the UK is delivering both sales and margin uplift ahead of expectations, and we are on track with plans to reformat another 90 to 120 stores in the UK and Nordics over the next 12 months."
However, the firm was forced to admit that PC World had been having stock issues, with several stores "not achieving the target level of availability".
"While the current economic climate is impacting us in the short term, the good progress we have made with our renewal and transformation plan is already making a difference for our customers," added Browett. "This gives us confidence we will come out of the recession stronger and better positioned to deliver a good return for our shareholders."
