Диксонс Ритейл: Тарихы және Эволюциясы

Former British consumer electronics retailer

Dixons Retail plc was one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Europe, which merged with Carphone Warehouse in 2014 to create Dixons Carphone. In the United Kingdom, the company operated Currys, Currys Digital, PC World (with stores increasingly dual branded 'Currys PC World'), Dixons Travel and its service brand Knowhow. At the time of the merger in 2014, Dixons Retail had 530 outlets in the United Kingdom and Ireland and 322 in Northern Europe. Its Nordic and central European business was operated under the Elkjøp umbrella, and it also operated Kotsovolos in Greece. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company, formerly known as Dixons Group plc and later DSG International plc, specialised in selling mass market technology consumer electronics products, audio video equipment, PCs, small and large domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communication products and related financial and after sales services such as extended service agreements, product set up and installation, and repairs.

Dixons was founded as a photographic studio by Charles Kalms and Michael Mindel in the High Street in Southend under the name of Dixons Studios Limited, a company registered in October 1937 with share capital of £100. The name Dixons, selected randomly from the telephone directory, was sufficiently short to fit above the small shop front. Dixons was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1962, changing its name at that time to Dixons Photographic Limited. It bought out competitors Ascotts in 1962, and Bennetts in 1964. In 1972, Dixons bought another competitor, Wallace Heaton, and in 1974, it opened its Stevenage distribution centre. In February 1993, Dixons bought Vision Technology Group (VTG), operating under the PC World brand at Croydon, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Brentford and Staples Corner. Later that year, the company sold VTG's mail order division, Dixons US Holdings Inc and Supasnaps.

In October 2002, Dixons bought UniEuro, an Italian based electrical retailer, and Genesis Communications, a mobile phone service provider. The company opened its first Electro World store in Hungary in February 2002. In October 2005, Dixons Group plc changed its name to DSG International plc. Further potential expansion came in April 2005, when DSGi bought an interest in Eldorado Group, the largest electrical retailer in Russia and Ukraine, with an option to buy the rest by 2011 for US$1.9 billion (about £1 billion GBP). This option was not pursued, DSGi withdrawing their interest in April 2007. In May 2006, DSGi was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise. In January 2008, DSGi announced that it would stop selling analogue televisions and only sell integrated digital televisions, in an effort to get consumers ready for the digital switchover. In May 2008, DSGi announced that it would close 77 of its 177 Currys. digital shops in the United Kingdom, as their building leases expired over the following five years.

In May 2010, the company secured almost exclusive rights to sell the Apple iPad. In June 2010, DSGi changed its name to Dixons Retail plc.

In May 2014, Dixons announced a merger, that soon came to pass, with Carphone Warehouse; the combined company would have market capitalisation of around £3.8 billion. Dixons thus became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dixons Carphone Holdings Limited, and was renamed to Dixons Retail Group plc. Sebastian James, who had been Dixons CEO since 2012, was appointed as CEO of Dixons Carphone. The company is structured according to the international locations of its businesses and brands, as detailed below: