DSG speeds up Currys megastore expansion

Electricals group DSG international is accelerating plans for a chain of Currys and PC World megastores in Britain as time runs out before the arrival of US firm Best Buy. The giant stores, which boast coffee bars and host cookery demonstrations, are part of a move by chief executive, John Browett, to take the retailer upmarket and shed its reputation for poor customer service. Browett showed city analysts and investors around the Currys megastore at the Lakeside shopping centre in Essex today where mocked-up living rooms help customers digest Blu-ray, high definition and even 3D home entertainment. There are eight such stores but it said there was scope for up to 70 – many created by knocking old Currys and PC World stores into one. DSG is nearly two years into a restructuring that has seen underperforming businesses sold off and revamps of the stores it plans to retain. Browett said the best results were achieved when Currys and PC World traded under one roof, and that would now be the group's focus. The 139 stores it has refurbished to date deliver 20% more profit than older shops and it will do up another 100 this year, including the creation of 25 megastores. Thurrock will be a key battleground for DSG and Best Buy as the local market for electricals is worth £523m – more than big enough to support a Currys and a PC World next door. The Best Buy store, due to open next month, is just across the road. Best Buy is famous in its native America for its dynamic store environments and friendly staff called "blue shirts" – one of the reasons it is perceived to pose such a threat to DSG. Browett said the retailer had made progress in this area: "Good customer service is like climbing Everest. We are at base camp and still have a lot more to do." Suppliers have got behind Browett's vision for the troubled business and have given it access to high-end household names such as Miele and Bose. By the time Browett finishes his revamp he expects to have just 500 British stores, down from 664 now. The bulk of closures, including 30 this year, will be high street outlets. Browett insisted the retailer was not abandoning the high street but said its store base needed to reflect the way customers shopped. Analysts at Credit Suisse described the update as bland, arguing DSG needed to close a large number of stores to get back on track. With the majority of UK outlets set to become hybrid stores Browett said he was not trying to "kill off" PC World, which would be left with a small number of stand-alone outlets. "It's not PC World, RIP, this is about expansion," he said. "This is the most successful specialist in the history of computer retailing."