Dixons ? a store which first began as a photographic studio in 1937 – will next month re-brand all its 190 UK high street stores as ?Currys.digital?. Yet, despite adding items such as fridges and washing machines to its product line-up, the move will not reduce the range of cameras available in shops, claims a Dixons spokesman.
Mark Webb told AP: ?We are not suddenly going to change half our shelves and get rid of cameras.? He confirmed that customers will still be able to walk into a high-street shop and walk out with a camera, adding that they would also be able to order, for example, a fridge, at the same time.
The move is expected to save the group £3m a year.
Dixons expects a wider range of cameras to be sold through its website which will still carry the Dixons brand name and is expected to be re-launched in four or five month?s time. The Dixons brand will continue only as an online retail operation through dixons.co.uk.
Currys opened its first store in 1896, selling bicycles. It now sells ?white goods? such as fridges and washing machines which, from May, customers will be able to order at the former Dixons stores and have them delivered from a storage depot elsewhere.
Currys and Dixons are owned by DSG International plc, which also owns brands such as PC World and The Link. DSG bought Currys in 1984.
? Last year Dixons decided to ditch 35mm film cameras from its high street stores as a result of the consumer shift towards digital cameras (see AP News 27 August 2005). However – despite much negative media coverage – we reported that the move was not predicted to have much impact on dedicated photo enthusiasts, many of whom turn to a specialist retailer rather than an electrical store when buying their camera equipment.
