PC World owner puts European wing up for sale

DSG International, the owner of Currys and PC World, has put its loss-making central and eastern European operations up for sale, it was reported today.

The electricals goods retailer has decided to offload its Electroworld chain as part of a wider restructuring by new chief executive John Browett.

The Sunday Times said the move signalled a further retreat for DSG’s international ambitions after it began looking at the sale of businesses in Spain and Italy in the summer. It is expected to focus on stronger trading areas in the UK, Ireland, the Nordic counties, Greece and on the internet.

The Electroworld division has more than 30 stores spread across the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland and combined sales of about £250m (€305m). However, it made losses of about £10m (€12.2m) in 2007.

Today’s report said DSG had appointed a corporate finance house in Poland to find buyers for the division. Possible bidders could include German electrical retailer Media Markt and Comet firm Kesa Electricals, analysts said.

DSG is battling a slowdown in consumer spending and reported a 30% slide in annual profits in June, having already warned over profits twice in the year.

Its transformation strategy has seen it launch new format stores as well as tackle poor customer service, with nearly all of its 20,000 UK staff due to have undergone training by Christmas.

Mr Browett, who was brought in from Tesco at the end of last year, unveiled his turnaround strategy in May, pledging to make the chain “unrecognisable”.

However, the most recent update showed a 7% drop in like-for-like sales for the six months to October 18. The figure included a 7% drop for the company’s UK and Ireland electricals business and a 11% fall for PC World.