Currys

Currys is a British electrical retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned by Dixons Carphone. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 megastores and 73 high street shops. Smaller shops also trade under the Currys Digital brand in the United Kingdom, which was introduced to rebrand all former Dixons shops in April 2006.

This article is about the electrical retailer in the United Kingdom. For the general variety of spicy dishes from Asia, see Curry. For all other uses, see Curry (disambiguation).

Currys
IndustryRetail
Founded1884
FoundersHenry Curry
HeadquartersActon, London, England, United Kingdom
Key people
Joel Stevenson (Group Retail Director)
James Hales
Colin Orr
ProductsWhite goods, Telecommunications, Information technology
Number of employees
10,762 (2008)
ParentDixons Carphone
Websitewww.currys.co.uk

Dixons shops in Ireland followed in August 2008, without the Digital suffix. Many of its physical shops in the United Kingdom now trade under the combined Currys PC World brand.[1]

History

Early years

Currys was founded in 1930s (commonly confused with Henry Curry's shop which started in Leicester 1850 & no longer exists), Curry's (like Henry Curry) began by building bicycles. The original shop was in Scotland Rd, Nelson, England

By the 1940s, the shops sold a wide variety of goods including bicycles, toys, radios and gramophones.[2] Currys pulled out of cycle manufacturing in 1932, when they closed their Leicester factory, but continued to retail bikes (badged as Currys) until the 1960s.

Meanwhile, particularly under the directorship of family member Dennis Curry between 1967 and 1984, Currys underwent considerable expansion becoming a major high street supplier of televisions and whitegoods (refrigerators, washing machines and other domestic appliances); by 1984 Currys Group PLC (Currys) was a chain of 570 shops, twice as many as the company which was then to acquire it.[3]

Takeover by Dixons
Branch in the former branding in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
Currys adjacent to former rival Comet in Guiseley, West Yorkshire.

Currys was taken over by Dixons (now Dixons Carphone, owners of the Dixons electrical products retail chain) in 1984, but maintained its separate brand identity. In April 2006, DSG announced that its Dixons shops (except in Ireland and in duty free areas in airports) would be rebranded as Currys.digital, making a total of 550 Currys shops in all.

However, in August 2008, the Dixons shops in Ireland were rebranded as Currys,[4] similar to the move in the United Kingdom, but without the ".digital" suffix and with a new Currys logo. Before the Dixons rebranding, the chain contained only a few small town centre shops compared with its much greater number of large out of town megastores.

These shops are generally split into four main departments; computing, home entertainment, major domestic appliances and small domestic appliances. The shops are a mix of display products and self service sections. On 17 January 2007, group chief executive John Clare announced that when the leases on the remaining 'Currys High Street' shops (not the rebranded Currys.digital shops) expired, it would be unlikely that they would be renewed: thus the shops will be closed at the earliest opportunity.[5]

PC World combination
A combined Currys and PC World on The Headrow in Leeds

Dixons Retail began a trial combining Currys and PC World shops in January 2015, and in August declared it to be a success.[6] A number of shops have since been combined, with their shop formats merged into one. In some cases, this has also involved the physical knocking together of some shops which were adjacently located. All advertising for the electronics side of both chains has now been merged.

During the Dixons Carphone Christmas 2015 to 2016 results update to shareholders; Sebastian James, group chief executive for Dixons Carphone, revealed that over the following financial year the three in one shop format (shops featuring Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse branding under one roof) would be rolled out across the company's entire portfolio on the United Kingdom and Ireland.[7]

The programme is expected to generate around £20 million of incremental annual earnings, due to recurring costs savings as a result of removing property from the portfolio.

On 14 May 2020 an article reported customer problems with orders during the period of the coronavirus. [8]

Concept shop

In December 2011, Currys opened a new high end concept shop named "Black" in Birmingham, UK. The new shop stocks high end ranges, and is laid out in a more fashionable way including mannequins and 'collection' displays. The new branding and layout aims to attract more female shoppers, whom research shows feel alienated in the larger shops.[9]

References
  1. "PC World and Currys trial joint store". Archived from the original on 29 September 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  2. Whittaker, John (16 April 2001). "Dennis Curry".
  3. "Dixons Group plc" on Company-Histories.com
  4. Mulligan, John (7 August 2008). "Electrical store Dixons to be rebranded under Currys name". Irish Independent.
  5. "Business Comment". London: The Independent. 18 January 2007. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007.
  6. Parfitt, Ben (3 August 2009). "PC World and Currys combo 'a success'". MCV. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  7. "Christmas Trading Update 2015-16" (PDF). Dixons Carphone. Dixons Carphone. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  8. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-8307341/Why-hard-contact-Currys-PC-World-order.html
  9. "Currys and PC World go Black". Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
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