DSG benefits from sale of televisions in time for South Africa World Cup

A STEADY stream of new television purchases in time for the summer’s World Cup in South Africa helped push overall first quarter sales at electronic goods retail group, DSG, up by 3% on a year-on-year basis.

The group – which operates the Currys, PC World and Dixons retail brands – saw sales in its core Britain and Ireland division – over the course of the three months to the end of July – grow by 3%, also, but by an even better 6% when just measured on a like-by-like basis when newly opened stores were excluded.

Group chief executive John Browett called the period “an encouraging start to the year, especially given the challenging market conditions”, but he added that management remains cautious about the overall economic outlook.

Total sales for the group in Scandinavia were up by 6%, on a year-on-year basis, after a period of “exceptional growth,” but were flat across central Europe.

Mr Browett said that the group’s renewal and transformation plan – aimed at refurbishing and remodelling stores and, ultimately, making the overall business better, easier and cheaper to run is progressing.

In Ireland, DSG currently operates 30 stores across the Currys and PC World brands and has, in place, serious expansion plans.

Earlier this year, the group – through its DSG Ireland office – announced the creation of 100 new jobs, forming part of a first phase of an ambitious overall expansion programme for Ireland.

That plan will see an unspecified number of new shops opening here up to the middle of next year.

Part of the expansion will see the first roll-out in Ireland of DSG’s new “two brands in one” policy, basically seeing the best of Currys and PC World under one roof.

Already 200 of the group’s Britain-based stores have been “reformatted”, including eight during the quarter in question.