At that time Japanese goods were not highly regarded in Europe, so Dixon marketed the goods under the German-sounding name of Prinz. By the end of the s incomes in Britain were rising sharply, and the market for photographic goods doubled in value between and Camera design was improving, color film prices were falling, and a craze for home-movie kits--camera, projector, and screen--swelled demand.
Dixon, having established a reputation for good value and quality, was one of the chief beneficiaries. The Kalms family retained voting control, with more than three-quarters of the shares in their hands at this time, but the shares released to the market proved highly popular. At the time of the stock offering Dixons had only 16 shops, five of them in London, and with the help of the offering it acquired more.
Two chains of camera shops, Ascotts, with 13 stores, and Bennetts, Dixons' largest specialty competitor, with 29 branches, were bought in the next two years. Dixons also opened more shops from scratch, including one on a prime site near Marble Arch, London. By the end of the company had 70 shops and by it had more than Growth in profits was more erratic. Retail sales were depressed in some years by government action to restrict credit, and some of the company's expansionary moves lost money in the short term.
In a large color film processing plant at Stevenage was purchased, the most up-to-date one in Europe at the time; it operated at a loss for a while before making a profit. Dixons also began to manufacture photographic accessories and display material and made substantial losses on this business before abandoning it in The key to Dixons' next leap in profits, in the early s, was its move into electronics retailing.
This began very cautiously in , when some audio and hi-fidelity units were put on sale in six branches as an experiment. They sold well and were soon introduced into all branches. By Dixons had introduced its own Prinzsound brand. The next year, television sets were sold experimentally in 25 stores. They, too, were a great success, partly because the recent arrival of color television had created a large television replacement market.
To make room for all these new products, the company had to enlarge its stores. In two consecutive years its total selling space was increased by 30 percent or more. The effect of these developments on profits was dramatic. The company had established itself in a new market with tremendous growth potential, and its reputation with the investing public, who by this time held the majority of its shares, stood high.
In fact, its next few years proved to be an unhappy period. This was partly because the economic climate changed for the worse in , but chiefly because the company tried to buy its way into other new markets with less positive results.
Dixons started to expand abroad in the early s, at first with success. Through small marketing companies in Sweden and Switzerland, it found valuable new outlets for its own brand of products throughout Europe. In it bought a large Dutch photographic and optical retail business, G. Rinck NV, a company with nearly 60 stores in the Netherlands, compared with Dixons' stores in the United Kingdom at that time.
As in Britain, Dixons opened more branches and introduced more products, but the Dutch business never approached the U. This experience deterred Dixons from further expansion overseas for some years. Instead, it embarked in on a new form of expansion in the United Kingdom. The idea was to widen Weston's range to include Dixons products, in the same way that Boots, originally a pharmaceutical company, had so successfully broadened its range to include other consumer goods. But why not run a check yourself to help you plan for your next must-have mobile?
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Contact us Email or Call us Contact a store Store locator. Our Best Android Deals! Refer a Friend. The following items have been added to the basket:. Go to basket. The company is closing its 94 Greek stores for at least two weeks from 18 March and has increased capacity at its online business to cope with demand as stores elsewhere are also expected to close temporarily during the Covid outbreak. The turbulent times and uncertain outlook [underline] the importance of taking action now.
The coronavirus crisis has caused a permanent shift to people buying more tech, the boss of electrical goods retailer Dixons Carphone has said. Chief executive Alex Baldock said "many people's eyes have been opened" to the uses of tech, including for home working and entertainment. The comments came as Dixons reported that online sales more than doubled during the pandemic. But he said Dixons planned to keep High Street shops despite the online shift.
Massive retailers such as Amazon and tech firms including Apple have seen surges in sales over the pandemic as people spent more time working, shopping and seeking entertainment online. Amazon said in April that it hoped habits would stick after its profits tripled in the first three months of this year.
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