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The UK's biggest phone store chain is closing all of its outlets
The UK's only remaining independent phone store is closing its vast network of retail locations on April 3rd, 2020. Dixons Carphone, owner of Currys PCWorld and Carphone Warehouse (CPW), will shutter the latter's 531 outlets at the start of next month. The company says it will focus on selling mobile gear and packages through Carphone Warehouse-branded areas inside the 305 remaining Currys PCWorld stores.
Dixons Carphone admits 2017 hack was bigger than first thought
Dixons Carphone -- owner of major high street brands Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse -- has confirmed that its 2017 cyber attack was much bigger than first anticipated. In an investor announcement, the company said that the breach affected as many as 10 million customers, up from the 1.2 million it acknowledged back in June.
Major UK electrical retailer Dixons Carphone confirms it was hacked
One of Europe's largest electrical retailers has been the subject of a cyber attack that's compromised more than 5.9 million card records and as many as 1.2 million personal accounts. Dixons Carphone, the owner of Currys PC World and Dixons Travel stores, says that most of these cards have chip and pin protection and noted that the data accessed doesn't include PIN numbers, card verification values (CVV) or any authentication data "enabling cardholder identification or a purchase to be made." However, some 105,000 cards were from non-EU countries and do not have the chip and pin feature.
Dixons Carphone is planning its own mobile network too
If Three's owner Hutchison Whampoa successfully buys O2, the pair could wield even greater power in the UK than we thought. Less than a week after Sky announced its plans for an O2-powered mobile network, Dixons Carphone is doing the same -- only it's struck a deal with Three. Details are scarce, but the FT reports the merged retailer will stand out with tariffs that allow customers to easily switch their minutes and data mid-contract. The idea being that if you have 5,000 texts, but find that you're only using half of them each month, you won't have to wait two years before downsizing your contract.
Dixons Carphone gives hundreds of stricken Phones4u employees new jobs
When Phones4u announced its surprise decision to call in the administrators, its 5,600 employees were left facing a very uncertain future. While the retailer is busy figuring out its options, one of it's biggest rivals, Dixons Carphone, has swooped in and offered a lifeline to some Phones4u staff. In a statement today, Dixons Carphone said it has reached an agreement with Phones4u to hire all 800 employees who had worked in a partnership between their stores.
Dixons Carphone celebrates its merger with seven new upgraded stores
After almost three months and a number of important approvals, Dixons and Carphone Warehouse have officially become one. Dixons Carphone, as it's now known (no, we're not making it up), is getting straight down to business, opening seven "store-in-stores" across the UK today with plans to open another 23 by the end of the year. When you enter one of the new "combined" shops, there will be dedicated areas for white goods, computers and now contract phones. That approach is mirrored across its websites too, pointing customers to new branded areas to better serve their needs. As time moves on, though, you may notice smartphones and tablets are given more prominence inside Currys & PC World stores as Dixons Carphone tries to lure you away from Amazon and offer everything under one physical and digital roof.
Europe gives Dixons Carphone the green light
The £3.8 billion merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse has cleared a big hurdle today. After announcing their intention to join forces as Dixons Carphone in May, the European Commission has seen fit to clear the deal, allowing the two parties to begin working out what to do with their combined 3,000 stores and 35,000 employees.
EE could soon ditch Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U
A strategic shift by the UK's largest mobile operator could leave a nasty taste in the mouths of Carphone Warehouse and its new partner Dixons. The Telegraph reports that just weeks after the two UK retailers confirmed plans to merge in a £3.6 billion deal, EE is deciding whether to end its relationship with Carphone Warehouse, and possibly Phones4U, as it looks to work more closely with customers. EE is expected to make an announcement "within weeks," and could involve dropping either one of its partners, or both. If EE was to sever ties with newly-formed Dixons Carphone, it would lose direct sales from over a thousand high-street stores, which puts more pressure on its own stores to pick up the slack. However, it already counts more than 30 million customers, has a one-third share of the UK market and recently announced plans to boost its retail presence across Britain. Carphone Warehouse has prided itself on being the best place to independently compare deals, but with Three already flying solo and EE set to follow, it could seriously undermine the retailer's claims.
Dixons and Carphone Warehouse merge to form Dixons Carphone
Dixons and Carphone Warehouse have just completed a merger and will now be known as Dixons Carphone. The negotiations began in earnest some three months ago, but merger discussions between the companies have been ongoing since long before that. Dixons has some 950 Currys and PC World outlets, while Carphone Warehouse is England's largest telecom retailer with over 2,000 stores and a 46 percent share of Virgin Mobile France. Dixons Carphone will therefore have nearly 3,000 stores and 35,000 employees, prior to any cost-cutting. However, Carphone Warehouse noted that the deal, which is still subject to shareholder approval, would save up to £80 million per year -- meaning some chopping is no doubt in order. No money reportedly changed hands, and each brand will continue to focus on its traditional products.
Dixons and Carphone Warehouse in talks to merge their 3,000 UK stores
Dixons is one of the last tech stores left on the UK's high street, but it's not content to just survive while rivals die off. Instead, the outfit has confirmed that it's been in behind-the-scenes merger talks with smartphone store Carphone Warehouse. If the deal goes through, it would create a retail behemoth with 3,000 stores and 35,000 employees -- at least before any cost-cutting begins. Nothing has been decided just yet, but the two companies have until May 19th to determine whether a tie-up is worth it, so execs at Phones4U may be in for a few sleepless nights.
UK retailer Ebuyer contemplates move from virtual to physical
After the collapses of Comet, Game, HMV and Blockbuster, the UK's high street has proven to be the elephant's graveyard of tech retailers. However, following Samsung's announcement that it'll open statement stores in the country, another business is considering doing the same. British online-only outfit Ebuyer has hinted that it could open a UK retail chain to compete with last man standing Dixons. Who knows? Perhaps those long-empty Comet stores might get another chance to serve their intended purpose.
Pioneer to start building TVs again, but not plasmas
Pioneer has announced that it'll re-enter the TV market as an exclusive brand for Dixons after it completely stopped making them in 2010. Unfortunately for fans of the sublime Kuro plasma displays, the company will only make 1080P LED models in 40-, 46- and 55-inch sizes. They'll get 3D and Smart TV capability along with a wide range of connection options, including HDMI, USB and WiFi. The new sets will be marketed and sold by Dixons in the Nordic countries at launch time in December, with plans to bring them to the UK at a later date. It's perhaps not surprising that Pioneer has no intention of going back to plasma and its low margins -- after all, even Panasonic is bowing out, despite all its fans.
Currys and PC World now offer same-day delivery to impulsive UK tech shoppers
Brits who can't stand waiting for gadget purchases can swing by a Currys or PC World to pick them up immediately, but that also requires the hassle of visiting a big-box store. As of today, impulse buyers won't have to brave that gauntlet: both Currys and PC World are offering same-day delivery for online orders. UK residents buying small gadgets from either shop before 9:30AM can spend £15 ($23) to have the goods reach their door by 10PM that night. The stores are also offering Sunday afternoon deliveries at similar pricing, and the £5 ($8) next-day option now includes all orders made before midnight. Extra-speedy shipments are initially limited to those in greater London and a handful of other post codes, but the retailers promise wider availability in the near future.
Barnes & Noble Nook lands in Currys, PC World and Sainsbury's stores, furthers the UK conquest
Barnes & Noble must want no corner of Britain untouched by Nooks. Following its planned bookstore invasion, the American company is bringing both the Nook Simple Touch and its GlowLight cousin to Sainsbury's and Waitrose supermarkets, as well as Dixons Retail-owned chains Currys and PC World. When the e-readers arrive at the outlets' respective online and retail stores from early October onwards, they'll bring the Nook's reach to nearly 2,000 UK sales points -- not quite ubiquitous coverage, but more than double what we saw in our most recent check. About all that's left is to offer the Android tablets that have been conspicuously missing from Barnes & Noble's initial expansion strategy.
Google sends Chromebooks to some Best Buy and Dixons stores, starting today
Google is getting serious about spreading the reach of Chromebooks. At its day two I/O keynote, it just revealed that the Chrome OS laptops are in 100 Best Buy retail stores across the US, effective today. British stores are getting a similar amount of care with a Chromebook presence in Dixons stores throughout the UK. We're still waiting on more details, such as which models will grace shelves, but there's good reason to suspect that Samsung's Series 5 550 will be front and center. If you haven't had the chance to make it out to a library or a cross-country flight to try a Chromebook for yourself, all you'll have to do now is swing by the local electronics shop to give that cloud computer a real shakedown. Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012's developer conference at our event hub!
Currys launches 'Knowhow Movies' VOD service / money-pit
Today, Dixons Retail plc (Currys, PC World) and Rovi launch a UK-based VOD service under the retail giant's Knowhow paid-support brand (think: Geek Squad with more overcharging). You'll be able to buy and download movies and TV to your Windows PC or stream them to a Mac using Rovi's DivX technology with adaptive streaming. The platform is promised to swell to include smart TVs, Blu-Ray players, tablets, consoles and smartphones through 2012. You'll be able to register up to five devices with the service and switch between them as you wish, as long as everything's connected to the internet. Selected movies are available to rent for around £3 ($5), or can be bought in SD/HD for £13 ($21) / £18 ($29). Just as an FYI for consumers planning on signing up: most of the titles are available to buy on DVD for around two-thirds of that price, if you can bear to wait a couple of days.
Dixons Retail CEO John Browett will become Apple's new SVP of retail
Apple announced on Monday that John Browett will join the company as its new Senior Vice President of Retail. Browett will replace Ron Johnson, who left Apple last year to become the CEO of retailer JC Penney. Browett will leave his current position as CEO of British electronics retailer Dixons to join Apple in April. Browett will be responsible for Apple's retail strategy going forward and will oversee the company's global expansion in the retail sector. Apple currently operates 361 stores around the world and has seen phenomenal growth over the last year. Apple's average revenue per retail store was US$17.1 million during Q4 2011, which was a 43 percent increase from $12.1 million a year ago. Apple stores also had 110 million visitors in 2011. Thanks to Daniel Cooper for the heads-up. Show full PR text John Browett Joins Apple as Senior Vice President of Retail CUPERTINO, California-January 30, 2012-Apple® today announced that John Browett will join the company as senior vice president of Retail, reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Browett comes to Apple from European technology retailer Dixons Retail, where he has been CEO since 2007. Beginning in April, he will be responsible for Apple's retail strategy and the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world. "Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we've met," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple." Prior to joining Dixons Retail, Browett held a series of executive positions at Tesco plc including CEO of Tesco.com. Earlier in his career he advised retail and consumer goods clients at Boston Consulting Group. He holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Wharton Business School. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
Apple hires former Dixons CEO John Browett as senior VP of Retail
More than six months after Ron Johnson's departure, Apple has finally found a new retail chief to replace him, in one John Browett. The Cambridge- and Wharton-educated Browett will be coming to Cupertino in April after serving nearly five years as CEO of Dixons -- the Taj Mahal of British retail. Before that, he held a smattering of obscurely defined "executive positions" at Tesco plc and advised retail clients at Boston Consulting Group. In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook lauded his company's latest appointee, citing his "incredible retail experience" and commitment to customer service. Read more in the PR after the break.
Samsung cuts Galaxy Tab prices in the UK, still more than AT&T
We've already shared some opinions on why Samsung's Galaxy Tab pricing makes sense stateside -- granted, that was before AT&T announced it would be charging $50 more than every other US carrier. After initially showing up for pre-order in the UK on Carphone Warehouse for £530 ($850) and for a Queen's ransom of £799 ($1280) on Amazon though, we're glad to find The Inquirer reporting that Tab prices on both Amazon and Dixons have dropped to £469 ($738) for a 16GB model with free delivery. Carphone Warehouse has also cut prices down to £489.99 ($784) for the 32GB version. Sure, that may still sound steep to us Yankees, but keep in mind it's now a good bit less than the basic 16GB 3G iPad which currently sells for £529 ($850). Whether these prices will slide even closer to Stateside levels is still obviously anyone's guess, but at this point we're sure those of you in the UK won't have an issue paying less for your tab.
PC World stops selling the Toshiba Folio 100, we go hands-on to find out why (video)
£999.99 ($1,612) for a Toshiba Folio 100?! That's a fair bit more expensive than its original $560 price point -- either its Tegra 2 chip's made out of gold (which would explain its rarity) or someone got super bored at that PC World store in the British Midlands. Soon after receiving this photo, we put on our detective hat and headed over to our local branch in London, only to find that it had already stopped selling the offending Android tablet merely ten days after its European launch. We quizzed the staff about the aforementioned £999.99 pricing and then all was clear: apparently this is a standard internal convention to stop its folks from selling certain products, so the price tag and display unit you see above weren't supposed to be there at all. Oopsie! So why is PC World (and the whole DSG International chain) pulling the Folio 100? Turns out this has nothing to do with Toshiba; but it's simply because of a high return rate from disappointed customers. In fact, head over to MoDaCo and you'll see a screenshot of PC World's internal memo that confirms this sad news. We had already given the tablet some decent (and disheartening) hands-on time back at IFA, but since our new friends at the store kindly offered to let us unbox a Folio 100 for a giggle, we decided to give it another go. And boy, it sure was a letdown: you'll see in our hands-on video after the break that the 10.1-inch LCD is haunted by an inferior pixel density plus narrow viewing angles; and the cheap plastic casing doesn't help, either. Most importantly, the official Android Market app was still MIA, which is no doubt the biggest turn-off for the buyers. Too bad, Toshiba, but do come back next year when you have Honeycomb and some decent screens. [Thanks, John L. and Adam C.] Update: Some commenters are pointing out that many software bugs -- especially in the Toshiba Market Place app -- and the lack of pinch-to-zoom in the browser are to be blamed as well. Yikes.%Gallery-107388%