MORE than 100 under-performing Dixons stores are to close as part of an overhaul at the high street electrical chain, it was announced today.
The Dixons group, which also owns Currys, PC World and The Link, said sales at Dixons-branded shops since Christmas had continued to disappoint.
It currently has 320 Dixons outlets in the UK and Ireland but plans to close 106 poorly performing sites over the next three months.
The company hopes to relocate a “significant number” of employees to other stores in the group.
The company has not provided details of which stores are to close. However, a spokesman said all the sites were within five miles of another group store.
Dixons Group chief executive John Clare added: “Following a prolonged period of disappointing trading in our smaller Dixons stores, we have decided to close operations in 106 locations.”
He said that full-year results from the company were likely to be in line with expectations after sales for the 52 weeks to May 1 showed growth of 14%.
The figure was boosted by good progress internationally while UK shops achieved a sales rise of 5% – or 2% when judged on a like-for-like store basis.
The company said it was still looking at ways to develop the Dixons format, including through the use of larger stores.
Today’s move follows the piloting of a larger format, known as Dixons XL, at locations including Cardiff, Swansea, Hull and the Bullring in Birmingham.
The new stores, whose locations range from the high street to out-of-town retail parks, are cheaper because, being larger, they have a lower rental per square foot, which gives the company a different profitability margin.
The group said costs associated with the closure programme were expected to be in the region of £48 million, a figure set to be included in the financial year covering the 12 months to Saturday.
From Manchester Online