PC Retail

It could happen quicker than that especially with the 177 stores that are gonna close soon, They are overpriced, the staff hardly know anything about the products now & are bullied by management to sell service agreements & credit to everyone. They try to bully their partners to bear the brunt of promotions for floorspace. They should of gone for a catalogue type store for technology like Argos that would help save them as far as I am concerned.

Can't wait for them to go! Staff are useless! They know nothing about even the most basic of items..I have had three members of staff from my local store come for job interviews and they were basically warranty sellers.
Viva La Independente!

Most "independents" are just as bad. Kabab shop owners turned computer store operators are rampant in the UK and far worse than the High Street chains.

I have shopped in Currys and PC world for many years and I feel the service and the expertise is very professional and feel it would be a great loss to the UK retail industry if these 2 great electrical giants were lost

Jon is right, and he should know he's one of our best store managers in the whole group

No just kidding - I'm not DSGi CEO - but Jon does sound like he's reading from a DSGi Sales & Marketing folder!! LOL!!!!

They shift boxes with a price tag and have little interest in building relationships at which independents are experts. The whole market though has become extremely price sensitive which will clear out many of those that don't have an interest in teh customer with a good after-care service, such as a decent repair shop. The industry is a victim of its own success and it's one which is fairly unregulated and easy to enter (kebab shop to PC shop as mentioned earlier) - at some stage the weakest will go. The customer will become more savvy and the businesses that have the knowledge to address their demands will prosper - here's hoping !!

Yeah, I see where these guys are coming from.
The High Street will have no DSGi group stores.
However, there are lies and there are statistics.
So there will be no DSGi stores on the High Street, but I can see absolutely no reference anywhere in the article as to how many DSGi stores there will be in Retail Parks, Shopping Centres, Warehouse Outlets etc. etc.
For me "the high street" means the town centre and my local town centre has no DSGi store already. Neither does Huddersfield, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Chesterfield, Brighouse, etc. etc.

I think the service is exceptional. Organisations such as Comet and supermarkets do not touch the levels of customer service and relationship building like staff at Currys do.

I've been buying electricals from there for over 15 years and never had a bad encounter.

Yes there is a lot of competition out there but I'm sure the DSGi people welcome some strong competition and rally forward.

Bottom line is that they provide better customer service, fantastic after sales service.

Long live DSGi

JimC - I suppose you believe the meek shall inherit the earth as well?!

All that's happened is prices in this sector have been driven down further and further such that margins are not worth having stores that people visit, only to then go and buy online from cheaper eTailers. DSGi have been struggling for some time and are about cutting costs of big stores. This isn't about customer service it's about overheads - the vast majority want as much as possible for as little as possible. The only growth here will be online, not independents who value customer service. They're no different from the local butchers and bakers, who everyone remembers fondly, but all ignored when visiting their cheaper supermarkets!

Realist you hit it on the head when I worked for the company 2 years back people would come in look at the products then pick your brains for info on it then say right I have seen it for this price online can you match it which couldn't be done so they walked out of the shop & bought it online. H3LL I did the same bought things the cheapest place I could find it which normally was online even with 10% discount.

Wait until Best Buy starts operating! If the American mentality comes over with them, the independants will be in much deeper trouble than they have been competing with DSGi.

Best Buy will put the nail in the independent's coffin.

The Truth,

Well! Lets hope you are wrong. Although it would be an easy life for the IR and government if there was just two companies to look after Best Buy & Tesco's. They could re train all the tax inspectors to recycle all the WEEE that will be dumped in landfill every day. All the indies can push peoples trolleys around the stores and load their cars for them, and if someone can't get on the internet or send an email, he can always give the kebab shopowner next door a fiver to sort him out.

I think you all forget that the closure of DSGI would create massive unemployment! I work for them on the sales floor and your right some of the staff are bad but the majority are hard working decent people that strive to do their best. There are new initiatives in place to re train staff on delivering excellent customer services, and new low price stratagies to help take back some of the market share from the internet-everyone has the perception that DSGI make lots of money on each product-this is not true, we have had to be more like the supermarkets-stack them high, sell them low and depend on volume(and customer service for repeat custom). So the next time you visit your local store do not forget the people that work there are human with feelings and only a numbers to DSGI, we only sell warranties because we have too, not because we necessarly believe in them, remember some people actualy want them. Thats what a service is-providing something that some people want. Last thing, Currys stratagy for a good few years now has been to move out of the high street and only have stores in retail parks. In referance to the store closures mentioned, this is been done over the next five years but will only be DIgital stores when their leases runs out and where the rent and rate mean the store does not generate enough, if any profit, which must make good economic sense?