Dixons (retailer)

This article is about the original UK electrical goods retailer. For its original parent company, see Dixons Retail. For the current merged parent company, see Currys plc.
Not to be confused with Dixons (Netherlands).

Dixons
Company typeOnline Retailer
IndustryRetail
Founded1937
Defunct9 October 2012
FateClosed
HeadquartersHemel Hempstead,
Hertfordshire
England
Key people
Per Bjørgås
(Managing Director)
ProductsWhite goods, Telecommunications, Information technology
ParentCurrys plc (intellectual properties)

Dixons was a British high-street retailer of consumer electronics, originally founded in 1937 as a photographic studio by Charles Kalms. The company would later deal in many consumer electronics, with nationwide outlets in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

In 1984, Dixons purchased rival Currys, though kept separate brand identities between the two stores.[1] Dixons typically encompassed shopping centres and town centres, whereas Currys were larger stores in out-of-town retail parks. On 5 April 2006, it was announced that the Dixons brand in the United Kingdom would be superseded by Currys, branded as Currys.digital. The Ireland subsidiary followed this in August 2008.[2] Dixons continued to trade online as Dixons.co.uk, until 2012.[3]

History

Dixons store in Sheffield in 2000

The first Dixons was opened by Charles Kalms in Southend as a photographic studio in 1937. The business flourished during the Second World War, as there was much demand for photographic services and family portraits.[4]

By the end of the war, Kalms had opened seven more studios in the London area. The demands for portrait services decreased considerably after the war, and he was forced to close all but one studio in Edgware, north London. The company was taken over by his son Stanley Kalms, who was chairman until September 2002.[5]

On 5 April 2006, Dixons announced that there would no longer be any Dixons shops in Britain; shops would henceforth be named Currys.digital. This was said to signal a shift to more Internet based selling and to "reduce confusion". Dixons stores were to be retained in Ireland, and in locations such as airports, and the Dixons website would continue.[6]

The Dixons subsidiary in Ireland was discontinued in August 2008, renamed to Currys. A Dixons.ie internet site was set up. Dixons branches in airports were re branded as Dixons Travel from January 2009, and the new format was rolled out to many airports in the United Kingdom.[7]

Closure

In October 2012, Dixons Retail announced that they would no longer trade using Dixons.co.uk website. Customers were then redirected to the Currys and PC World websites, where all remaining orders and agreements were honoured.[8]

Dixons Travel

Dixons Travel
FormerlyDixons Tax Free
Company typeDivision
IndustryRetail
FoundedJune 13, 1994; 30 years ago (1994-06-13)
FateClosed (original)
Folded into Currys plc (relaunch)
HeadquartersNorth Acton,
London
,
United Kingdom
Key people
  • Wayne Bannerman (operations director)
  • Charlotte Green (head of finance)
  • Neil Matthews (head of merchandising)
ProductsElectronics & Travel Accessories
OwnerCurrys plc
Websitewww.dixonstravel.com

Dixons Travel was a technology retailer, with stores in four airports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was a division of Currys Retail, a subsidiary of Currys plc.

It was initially established as Dixons Tax Free in June 1994 to relaunch the Dixons brand in airport locations. The name changed to Dixons Travel in January 2009. A branch in Brussels trades under the Knowhow brand.[9]

On 28 April 2021, Dixons Carphone announced the closure of the Dixons Travel business,[10] due to the removal of tax-free shopping in UK airports from December 2020, and lower passenger numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company stated that the Dixons Travel business had historically contributed annual profits of over £20 million to the Dixons Carphone group.[11]

In June 2021, Dixons Travel had reopened its stores[12] in Birmingham Airport, Dublin Airport's Terminal 1, Gatwick Airport's North Terminal, and Heathrow Airport's Terminals 2 and 5. Other stores in Heathrow's Terminals 3[13] and 4 and the rest of the UK,[14] Dublin's Terminal 2 reopened July 19, 2021. Oslo Airport, and stores on both the P&O Ventura and Britannia cruise ships, closed due to folding into Currys plc.

References

  1. ^ "Assessing the Currys.digital brand". Marketing Week. 29 September 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ^ Cheers! (7 August 2008). "Electrical store Dixons to be rebranded under Currys name". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  3. ^ Lawson2012-10-08T08:44:00+01:00, Alex. "Dixons.co.uk online brand ditched". Retail Week. Retrieved 10 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Interview: Sir Stanley Kalms - Don't mess with Sir Stanley". The Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. ^ "National School of Government LES50NS | Biography". nsg.fiftylessons.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Dixons to become internet-only operation". the Guardian. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ "DGSi adopts Dixons Travel brand tests new PC World and Currys formats". Marketing Magazine. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Dixons.co.uk online brand ditched".
  9. ^ "Electrical retailer, Dixons, opens new concept Travel store at Gatwick Airport". Retail Times. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  10. ^ Partridge, Joanna (28 April 2021). "Dixons Carphone to close all airport stores after tax-free shopping scrapped". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Pre-close trading update". Dixons Carphone plc. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Dixons Travel talking to airport business partners as store closures commence". TRBusiness. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Dixons Travel opens new-look digital concept store at London Heathrow". Internet Retailing. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Dixons Travel - Our Stores". Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.