Retailing Technology

Fnac in Morocco

2010-02-08T12:30:00.002Z

Last week, Fnac announced that it has entered into a franchise arrangement with Groupe Aksal, and will be opening its first Moroccan store in Casablanca in early 2011. Fnac currently has some 60+ stores outside France - in Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Amazon Q4/09

2010-02-08T12:26:00.002Z

Last week, Amazon announced its results for Q4 and Fiscal 2009. Net sales increased by 42% to $9.5bn in Q4/09, from $6.7bn in Q4/08. For the full year, net sales increased by 28% to $24.5bn. Within Q4/09, sales of electronics and other general merchandise increased by 60% to $4.61bn.

Apple Q1/10

2010-01-27T15:33:00.002Z

Apple has just published its Form 10-Q for Q1 of fiscal 2010, covering the three months to 26th December 2009. Apple's retail revenues increased to $1.97bn in the quarter. There were an average of 278 stores open in this period, generating average revenues per store of $7.1mn [up slightly from $7.0mn in Q1 2009]. As part of their fleet of stores, Apple says that:

The Company has certain retail stores that have been designed and built to serve as high-profile venues to promote brand awareness and serve as vehicles for corporate sales and marketing activities. Because of their unique design elements, locations and size, these stores require substantially more investment than the Company's more typical retail stores.

As of 26th December, Apple had 12 such 'high-profile' stores. Which ones are they?

Teknosa wants to be a Billionaire

2010-01-27T12:31:00.002Z

Teknosa, the specialist electronics retailer based in Turkey, aims to increase its turnover to $1bn this year, according to Haluk Dincer, president of Sabanci Holding's retail group which owns Teknosa. Just over a month ago, BestBuy opened its very first European retail outlet in Izmir, Turkey, brining some very ambitious and aggressive competition into an already crowded Turkish consumer electronics market

Apple Store Frankfurt

2010-01-27T05:53:00.003Z

Last Saturday, Apple opened a store in Frankfurt, its third in Germany. Apple opened its first store in Germany in Munich last December, and then in August it opened a store in Hamburg.

Amazon Trade-in Program

2010-01-26T05:11:00.003Z

About a year ago, we posted a couple of pieces about trade-in programs, one about RadioShack, and the other about the types of third party operator competing in this space. Yesterday's Financial Times reported [registration required] that Amazon is expanding its trade-in program. It said that:

This month Amazon launched an initial trade-in and recycling partnership for consumer electronics with CExchange, one of a number of US web-based services that buy back used electronics in partnership with retailers.

Amazon entered the trade-in market back in March 2009, with the launch of its own online trade-in service for used video games. This service was then extended to include DVDs, and more recently, college text books.

Kesa Trading Statement

2010-01-20T11:39:00.003Z

Kesa Electricals has just announced its numbers for the Christmas period, reporting unaudited accounts for the period from 1st November 2009 to 8th January 2010. Revenues for the group increased by 1.3% in Sterling; and they increased by 0.7% in local currency; but they decreased by 0.3% on a like-for-like basis. As in the recent past, Darty in France was the hero with revenues up by 4.6% in local currency, while Comet in the UK was a disappointment, with revenues down by 3.4% [and slightly worse than that on a like-for-like basis].

Kesa's three developing businesses - Darty Italy, Darty Turkey and Menaje del Hogar in Spain - all performed well, increasing their combined revenues by 8.4% [but a little less on a like-for-like basis]. Revenues derived from Kesa's various online activities increased by a healthy 19.3%.

SoftWide for Tesco

2010-01-18T23:10:00.003Z

Earlier today it was announced that Tesco has become latest customer of Tribeka's SoftWide platform. SoftWide is an in-store facility which manufactures a retail product - software on a disc - in a few minutes. The SoftWide technology and digital rights system is approved by almost every major consumer software publisher, including Microsoft. Tesco is not the first major European retailer to work with Tribeka, Carrefour launched the SoftWide platform in a handful of stores over a year ago.

DSGi Update

2010-01-15T11:06:00.003Z

DSGi's latest trading statement - for the twelve weeks ending on 9th January - reported that underlying group revenues were up by some 11%, with like-for-like revenues up by 8%. But tellingly, DSGi explains that:

Gross margins across the group were down 0.8% year-on-year, driven by the Group's decision to drive sales through the peak period as well as product and market mix.

As reported in their earlier Interim Statement, the Nordics was by far and away the most impressive segment, with year-on-year underlying revenue growth touching 40%. The area continuing to struggle the most is the UK's Computing segment - that's the B2B part of DSGi's business - where like-for-like revenues were down 8%.

Metro Update

2010-01-15T11:05:00.011Z

Metro Group - home to Media Markt and Saturn - have announced their preliminary and unaudited figures for 2009. Revenues in local currency grew by 0.2% to €65.5bn, but in constant currency, revenues declined by 3.6%. For MSH, the announcement said that:

In an overall challenging year, Media Markt and Saturn were able to strengthen their leading market position in Europe. Sales grew by 3.7% to €19.7bn [adjusted for currency, that would have been growth by 5.5%].

Tesco Update

2010-01-15T11:05:00.010Z

Tesco's Christmas and New Year trading statement shows that group sales increased by 7.5% in constant currency [6.9% in actual exchange rates] in the six weeks to 9th January 2010. In the UK, online sales - in food and non-food - grew by some 20% in this period.

Carrefour Update

2010-01-15T11:05:00.009Z

Yesterday, Carrefour published their full year results for 2009. Revenues in France were down by 2.8%; in Spain, they were down by 5.8%; in Italy, they were down by 4.7%; and in Belgium, they were down by 2.2%. But it was a different story in Carrefour's growth markets. In Latin America, revenues were up by 9.4%; and in Asia, revenues were up by 8.8%. But in the European growth markets - that's Poland, Turkey, Romania, Greece and Portugal, revenues were down by 6.6%. Somewhat astonishingly, Carrefour opened or acquired over 1,000 new stores in 2009.

Best Buy Update

2010-01-15T11:05:00.008Z

Back on 8th January, Best Buy reported that for the fiscal month of December [which ended on 2nd January], revenues increased some 13% to $8.5bn. One year ago, for a similar five week period, revenues came in at $7.5bn. The holiday period is absolutely critical to retailers like Best Buy where these five weeks represent a little under 10% of the year in trading days, but a little over 20% of annual revenues.

Top Global Retailers

2010-01-11T15:29:00.003Z

Deloitte has just published the 'The Global Powers of Retailing 2010'. It's their 13th edition. The league table of the Top 250 retailers in the world shows that five of the Top 10 now come from Europe:

Carrefour

Metro

Tesco

Schwarz [Lidl]

Aldi

And the leading technology specialists are as follows:

023 Best Buy

043 Yamada Denki

065 DSGi

091 Gome

106 Kesa

116 Edion

117 Yodobashi

125 Suning

131 Casas Bahia

136 Apple

145 Bic

148 Euroset

149 K's

159 Eldorado

181 Kojima

191 RadioShack

222 Joshin Denki

250 Best Denki

This list clearly doesn't not separate the MediaMarkt business from Metro, or the Fnac business from PPR. And it does not even include the two biggest European buying groups, Euronics and Expert. It is also important to note that while this is the 2010 list, it is based on revenue figures from 2008 [but they do separate retail revenues from non-retail revenues before creating their league table].

Media Markt's Chinese Venture

2010-01-04T21:44:00.003Z

Earlier today, Metro confirmed that they will be opening their first Media Markt store in China this year, probably in Shanghai. Metro's Chinese operation is in a JV with Foxconn Technology Group, with Metro owning 75% of the jointly-owned business.

Online in France

2009-12-24T14:13:00.004Z

According to recent article from Reuters, France still lags behind Germany and the UK when it comes to online consumer sales. Reuters quotes research from Forrester which estimates online sales in France at €25bn, in Germany at €31bn, and in the UK at €41bn. France is seen as a less mature online market than Germany or the UK partly because of its relatively slow transition over the past decade from its homegrown Minitel service to the World Wide Web. This is compounded by the fact that there are almost no online food sales in France - principally because home delivery is comparatively expensive in the more dispersed geography of France. One exception is Casino Guichard and its cdsicount site, although it mostly sells consumer electronics and entertainment products.

Kesa Down

2009-12-18T07:03:00.002Z

Kesa Electricals - home to Darty, Comet and Menaje del Hogar - have published their interim statement for the six months ending 31st October 2009. Group revenues increased by 7.6% to £2.35bn. In constant currency, that equals an increase of just 0.1%. But on a like-for-like basis it equals a decrease of 2.5%. The real success story continues to be Darty where revenues increased by 12.2% and retail profit increased by 12.7%. At Comet, sales increased, but by just 3.6%, while retail losses improved from a loss of £8.1mn to a loss of £1.2mn. Nevertheless, overall group retail profits came in at £24.3, which means that Darty's profits represent over 180% of group profits.

Best Buy Europe

2009-12-18T07:02:00.002Z

Carphone Warehouse has just issued its Q2 trading update. It explained that the demerger of Talk Talk and Best Buy Europe is still expected to happen by the end of March 2010. It also confirmed that Best Buy Europe remains on track to open its first Big Box stores in the Uk in Spring 2010.

Vertical Integration

2009-12-13T07:36:00.008Z

Best Buy Store 291: Houston, Texas

The retail channel is usually considered to be the dominant route to market for the consumer electronics manufacturers. It's understood that they may add other products and services at the point of sale - cross-selling accessories, adding delivery and installation options, vying for post-sales warranty and service revenues. Building out the basket. Increasing their 'average transaction value'. But backward integration - competing with their suppliers - that's not generally the role of a 'channel partner'.

Best Buy is the giant of US electronics retailing. With the death of Circuit City earlier in the year, Best Buy is now far and away the largest specialist retailer in the US, with annual revenues expected to be not far short of some $50bn in its current fiscal year. But a story in the latest edition of [Bloomberg] Business Week says that:

Rather than waiting for electronics makers to ship Best Buy the same products its rivals get, [Best Buy's staff] are walking factory floors with executives from companies such as Hewlett Packard and Toshiba, influencing product development and design. [For example], the retailer is pushing suppliers to use standardised software and digital services so consumers can listen to music or watch movies on any device. And Best Buy set up its own venture fund to pour millions of dollars into start-ups from Silicon Valley to Asia. The goal is to shape development of new technologies in promising fields such as green vehicles, digital health, and home monitoring.

Needless to say, while it remains largely unspoken, the threat of significant 'channel conflict' is a serious possibility if Best Buy goes beyond the acknowledged [and generally accepted] route of supplying private label equivalents. By trying to find products which no one else stocks - either by doing deals with a few 'A Brand' manufacturers, or building its own products in untapped niches, or demanding product homogeneity to suit its own ends - Best Buy could be on a collision course with many of its key suppliers. And while Best Buy dominates the specialist retail sector for electronics, it has to be looking over its shoulder at the advances made by Wal-Mart and Amazon, both of which are making great inroads in the US consumer electronics business.

Nokia's Flagship Stores

2009-12-10T13:58:00.006Z

Nokia Flagship Store: Moscow

The Nokia Flagship Store concept was launched in December 2005 with its first store in Moscow. The original plan was to create some 18 stores around the world. Yesterday there were twelve. Very soon there will be just eight. As Reuters reported earlier today, Nokia will be closing its Flagship Stores in Central London, New York, Chicago and Sao Paulo. Like several other publications, Reuters made parallels between Nokia's retail strategy and Apple's store concept. In Central London, the contrast is all too visible as an Apple Store and Nokia's store stare at each other across Regent Street. But while Apple's store in mostly full to bursting, Nokia's store is usually close to empty.

Dell's Twitter Revenues

2009-12-10T10:24:00.009Z

Back in June, we reported on Dell's experiments with Twitter. Now, a new article in Fast Company says that Dell has generated $6.5mn in Twitter-driven sales. And as Dell's Twitter Follower list has grown by some 23% in the last three months alone, it's quite likely that their revenues from Twitter will increase considerably in 2010. Here's a case study on Dell Outlet written up by Twitter, and see Dell Outlet on Twitter here.

Amazon Fulfilment Centre

2009-12-07T15:15:00.017Z

If you've never seen the madness that is an Amazon fulfilment centre, have a look at this two minute video from The Guardian showing the Milton Keynes centre in the UK.

Valuing El Corte Inglés

2009-12-07T15:15:00.016Z

El Corte Inglés: Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona

A report in today's Financial Times [subscription required] says that a long-running family feud at El Corte Inglés will be back in court this week, with a panel of three judges meeting to establish a method for valuing the closely-held company. Their decision is expected over the coming month or so.

The feud goes back to 2005 when one family member wanted to sell off his stake in the company. Initially, the valuation was set at the department store group's book value. Needless to say, this inadequate valuation method was challenged, with the result that two business school professors came up with a valuation of 2.3 times book value, or between €14.7bn and €16.6bn. [For more details, see this earlier article in the FT.] But their work was also challenged, and to date, there has been no agreed valuation method which has been acceptable to all parties.

DEC5

2009-12-07T15:15:00.007Z

DEC4

2009-12-07T15:15:00.005Z

DEC3

2009-12-07T15:15:00.003Z

DSGi Interim Statement

2009-12-07T15:14:00.003Z

Back in November, DSGi published its Interim Statement for the 24 weeks to 17th October. Group sales were down by 1% [4% on a like-for-like basis]. But sales in the Nordics were up by a remarkable 22% [although just 11% on a like-for-like basis], while everywhere else, apart from the e-commerce business, DSGi's sales were down. As the Interim Statement explains:

The Nordic business is the preferred operating model for the Group. Management continues to simplify the business, taking out costs and reducing complexity. The efficient central operating structure and strong market shares have enabled Elkjop to leverage margin and exploit its strong market positions and gain market share from distressed competitors.

In other words, DSGi's business in the Nordics has been aggressive with its discounting policy, to the detriment of some of its weaker competitors.

Non-core at PPR

2009-11-26T04:06:00.004Z

It's been an open secret that PPR would dispose of its Fnac subsidiary some day. Well, last week, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal [subscription required],

Cyber Monday in the UK

2009-11-26T04:06:00.003Z

A few years ago, the first Monday after Thanksgiving was called Cyber Monday because an analyst found that online orders seemed to jump on that Monday, presumably following a pattern of window shopping over the weekend. And since then, the Cyber Monday sales lift has been quite noticeable in the US. Now it's making its way over to Europe.

The UK broadsheet, The Guardian, has published an interesting article on the preparations being undertaken by Amazon in anticipation of this sales peak. It says that last year [on 8th December], Amazon sold 1.4mn items from its UK web site, over 16 items a second and the most orders it had ever received in a single 24-hour period. This year, Amazon is forecasting that sales will be between 21 - 36 per cent higher.

To demonstrate the scale of Amazon's operations in its UK Distribution Centre in Milton Keynes, The Guardian produced a short video.

RIP JSP

2009-11-19T13:07:00.003Z

Jessops, the troubled UK-based photography retailer, will be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange early next year according to an interview with Chairman David Adams in Amateur Photographer magazine.

Just six weeks ago, Jessops announced that its main operating company was being sold to a newly formed company called Snap Equity Limited, of which 47% is owned by HSBC, 33% is owned by the company's pension fund, and 20% is owned by an Employee Benefit Trust. As part of the deal, HSBC withdrew its claim on a £34mn debt owed to the bank by Jessops plc.

The private equity arm of ABN Amro floated Jessops in November 2004 at £1.55 a share. Today's share price is £0.01 and the company is capitalised at just £1.14mn.

Cross Channel Nudge

2009-11-03T18:34:00.004Z

Shoppers who cross channels as they work their way towards making a buying decision have been nudged by DSGi's Dixon's to visit their upscale competitors first, and then buy online at Dixons website. The campaign does not name these competitors overtly, but it is clear from the typography and the colour schemes of the posters displayed on London's Underground that they are referencing Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis.

While this may be an unpopular approach for Dixon's targets, it's acknowledging what's really happening in the marketplace. Competition across channels is clearly part of today's competitive dynamic, and Dixon's should be applauded for tapping into this growing trend.

Microsoft Stores

2009-10-30T11:21:00.009Z

Last week, Microsoft opened its first-ever retail store in Scottsdale, Arizona. This week they opened their second store in Mission Viejo, California. It is not known where and when the next stores will open.

No 9

2009-10-30T11:21:00.005Z

No 8

2009-10-30T11:21:00.003Z

No 7

2009-10-30T11:21:00.001Z

Amazon Q3/09

2009-10-20T15:05:00.010+01:00

Last week, Amazon announced its results for Q3 2009. Amazon's worldwide sales increased by 28% from $4.26bn in Q3 08 to $5.45bn in Q3 09. Amazon's international sales - that's revenues from its British, French, German, Chinese and Japanese sites - increased by 33% [although with an adjustment for adverse currency movements, that would be a 35% increase] to £2.61bn. And worldwide sales of electronics [and other general merchandise - Amazon's product segmentation means that it does not report publicly on technology sales on their own] increased by 44% to $2.93bn.

No 4

2009-10-20T15:05:00.007+01:00

No 3

2009-10-20T15:05:00.005+01:00

No 2

2009-10-20T15:05:00.003+01:00

No 1

2009-10-20T15:05:00.001+01:00

Post #10

2009-09-29T08:23:00.010+01:00

Post #9

2009-09-29T08:23:00.009+01:00

Post #8

2009-09-29T08:23:00.007+01:00

Post #7

2009-09-29T08:23:00.005+01:00

Post #6

2009-09-29T08:23:00.003+01:00

Post #5

2009-09-29T08:23:00.001+01:00

Post #4

2009-09-29T08:22:00.006+01:00

Post #3

2009-09-29T08:22:00.005+01:00

Post #2

2009-09-29T08:22:00.003+01:00

Post #1

2009-09-29T08:22:00.001+01:00

New Post

2009-09-13T00:23:00.000+01:00

The Most Important Retail Head in Europe

2009-07-31T17:04:00.002+01:00

Earlier this week, Best Buy announced that Scott Wheway has been named CEO of Best Buy Europe - the new company created by the JV between Best Buy and The Carphone Warehouse. Wheway will take on responsibility for all of Best Buy Europe's operations, including The Carphone Warehouse's 2,450 stores across nine European countries, plus the 'big box' stores which are scheduled to be launched in the UK next year. Mr Wheway spent some 20 years in Tesco [and not just in the UK - his last posting for Tesco was in Japan], and was most recently the Managing Director of Boots the Chemist.

Microsoft Stores

2009-07-31T15:42:00.004+01:00

Back in February, we posted a note on the appointment of David Porter as Microsoft's Corporate VP of Retail Sales. Well, now it looks as if we're moving ever closer to the opening of Microsoft's first stores in the US.

Earlier this week, Gizmodo revealed a leaked slide deck from Lippincott - a design and brand strategy consultancy. Within the body of the deck, Lippincott explained that it has been asked to assist Microsoft and its 'approved partners' with the development of a new company owned retail store that "provides a transformative customer experience, shifts current perceptions of the brand, and supports the functional operating requirements of the business groups".

As Gizmodo explains: "Essentially, Microsoft is taking the best elements from the Apple Store, Sony Style and other 'flagship' stores." There will be a Digital Media Wall which wraps around the entire store. There will be 'stage areas' for Windows 7, Windows Media Centre, and Windows Mobile. And there will be an Answers Bar or Guru Bar or Windows Bar - well, something very similar to Apple's Genius Bar.

We now learn from CNET that two stores have already been identified - one in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the other in Mission Viejo, California. It is understood that the store in Mission Viejo will be in the same mall as the local Apple Store.

Best Buy Europe

2009-07-25T08:57:00.003+01:00

Earlier this week, The Carphone Warehouse published its Q1 2010 trading update. The division between The Carphone Warehouse's Talk Talk business and its 50% stake in Best Buy Europe is now clearer than ever. And with the launch of Best Buy Europe's 'Big Box' strategy in 2010, the disconnect between these two businesses will become even more overt. Meanwhile, total revenues for Best Buy Europe increased 6% year-on-year to £773mn, although on a constant currency basis, this increase was just 0.7%. On a like-for-like basis, revenues grew 5.4%, or just 0.2% on a constant currency basis.

Amazon Q2/09

2009-07-24T16:46:00.005+01:00

Amazon has just published its results for Q2 2009. Overall, revenues increased by 14% year-on-year, while operating income decreased by 27%, and net income decreased by 10%. Excluding adverse exchange rates, Amazon's international segment - that's operating companies in China, France, Germany, Japan and the UK - grew revenues by 28%. At constant currency, this growth was just 16% year-on-year.

For worldwide electronics [which includes other 'general merchandise' not included elsewhere], revenues grew by 35% to $2.07bn at constant currency. Without the adverse impact of unfavourable exchange rates, this would have represented growth of 41%. This result compares very favourably with Amazon's 'traditional' media segment [books, DVDs and such like] which grew by a mere 1% year-on-year.

Logitech Q1/10

2009-07-24T06:45:00.004+01:00

Logitech has announced its results for Q1 FY2010, and revenues are down once again, this time by 36% year-on-year [although when adjusted for constant currency, by 33%]. Logitech has continued to say that revenues have been adversely affected by de-stocking in the channel. Gerald Quindlen, CEO, said: "During Q1 we made substantial progress in helping our channel partners reset their new, lower levels of weeks of supply. While there is more progress to be made, we continue to expect this reset to be completed by the end of Q2".

Apple Brighton

2009-07-24T04:50:00.004+01:00

This Saturday, Apple opens its 21st Apple Store in the UK. It's located in Churchill Square, Brighton on England's south coast. The store opens at 10.00, and as usual, the first 1,000 visitors will receive a free Apple T-shirt.

Elsewhere in Europe there are just 6 Apple Stores - that's 1 in Italy [Rome], 3 in Switzerland [2 in Zurich, and 1 in Geneva], and 1 in Germany [Munich]. There are rumours of further openings in Europe later this year.

Apple Q3/09

2009-07-24T04:42:00.005+01:00

Earlier this week, Apple posted its Q3 09 results. Sales at Apple Stores increased by some 4% year-on-year, mostly due to increased iPhone revenues, and partially offset by a decrease in revenues from iPods and Macs. Apple ended the quarter with 258 stores compared with 216 stores at the end of Q3 08. Average Q3 revenues per store declined from $6.8mn in 2008 to $5.9mn in 2009. And Apple ended the current quarter with approximately 15,600 full-time equivalent employees working in their retail segment.

Multichannel Staples

2009-07-08T11:58:00.002+01:00

Just a little over one year ago, Staples acquired Corporate Express, creating a global office products giant. Now, we learn that Staples in the UK has kicked-off a pan-European re-branding exercise, relabelling the Corporate Express business 'Staples Advantage'. So, the 'Delivery' part of Staples now has Staples Advantage for contract sales, principally to large and mid-sized corporates, and Staples Catalogue for SME/SMB customers. Then there is Staples Retail for SME/SMB customers, plus consumers.

Within Europe, Staples has a retail business in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. There are two distinct retail concepts in Europe - the Staples format in the UK, Germany and Portugal; and Office Centre, a cash-and-carry membership warehouse format, in Belgium, Germany [just 2 outlets] and the Netherlands.

DSGi Verdict

2009-07-01T14:30:00.003+01:00

Verdict Research is probably the leading firm of retail analysts in the UK, publishing numerous studies throughout the year. Verdict also produces a weekly synopsis of retail news and opinion called Retail FreeView. This week's edition includes a story centred on DSG's results which were published last week.

Verdict says that DSGi's response to continuing declines in revenues is to: "Focus on its longer-term viability by offering better service, overhauling its store portfolio, growing online sales and reducing costs". But, Verdict says that in spite of these actions, it believes that: "The Group's future looks bleak".

For PC World, Verdict explains that the company is placing more emphasis on: "Service, connectivity, delivery, installation and repair, as well as on educating its customers about converging technology". In addition, Verdict says that the Group is offering: "More technical and after sales services, such as its TechGuys proposition, and placing more emphasis on sales of subscription products, warranties and guarantees which accompany the product".

None of this is really new. For some years now, DSGi has been trying to position itself as a specialist provider, but the world has moved on. In so many ways, DSGi's competitors - be they the major grocers, other players with simpler propositions [especially John Lewis in the UK], and the pure play online retailers - offer what the consumer wants, in a format they understand, and at a price point [and margin] which is does not need to be propped up with accessories and service add-ons.

Verdict concludes its analysis by saying that: "If the retailer does not not take more decisive, aggressive and appropriate action now, it risks slipping into terminal decline, with a confused, irrelevant offer, a forever shrinking store portfolio, and customers flocking to its rivals". Ouch!

DSGi Q4/09

2009-06-25T15:39:00.004+01:00

After yesterday's results from Kesa, today it's the turn of DSGi.

DSGi's sales for the year ending 2nd May 2009 were down 1% to £8.2bn, although like-for-like sales were down 9%. In the UK and Ireland, where DSGi makes over half of its annual turnover, sales were down by 11%. But, the eCommerce division - that's dixons.co.uk and PIXmania - increased sales from £652.3mn to £807.4mn [dixons.co.uk will transition onto the PIXmania e-merchant platform in the current fiscal year, and this is expected to help grow the business further].

Private Equity Stakes

2009-06-24T17:05:00.003+01:00

Yesterday, Office Depot announced that BC Partners, a leading private equity firm, has invested $350mn in the business. Over time, this could give the private equity firm a stake of roughly 20% in Office Depot.

In a similar deal earlier in the week, Bain Capital agreed to take a stake of up to 23% in China's GOME Electrical Appliance Holdings.

Reuters explained that private equity firms typically seek to take majority control of the firms they invest in, but as leverage has been scarce, minority stake deals have become increasingly common.

Kesa Slumps

2009-06-24T13:06:00.006+01:00

Two of the top three electricals retailers in Europe deliver their results this week. Today it was the turn of Kesa Electricals. Tomorrow it will be DSGi.

At the top line, Kesa's revenues increased by 9.8% to £4.95bn, but in constant currency revenues declined by 1.2%, while on a like-for-like basis, revenues declined by 6.2%. Retail profit for the group was £77mn, down from £141mn for the previous 12 months. This decline was principally due to a significant decline in profits at Comet [down from £43mn to £10mn], and at Menaje del Hogar [down from a loss of £1.8mn to a loss of £23mn].

Thierry Falque-Pierrotin, CEO at Kesa, said that: "Darty France, and our established businesses in The Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic, all maintained their market positions and improved gross margins". But in the UK, he said that actions have been taken, "to mitigate the impact of market conditions".

Netbook or Notebook

2009-06-23T12:24:00.007+01:00

We've been hearing about the high number of retail returns from Netbooks or Mini-Notebooks for some time now. So, a study published yesterday by The NPD Group is welcome evidence of the misunderstanding between what consumers expect and what they actually get.

NPD's Netbooks II: A Closer Look study found that some 60% of consumers who purchased a Netbook instead of a Notebook thought that their Netbooks would have the same functionality as a Notebook - a fundamental error. Moreover, only 58% of consumers who bought a Netbook after originally considering a Notebook were satisfied with their purchase. But, for those consumers who bought a Netbook, when they considered buying a Netbook right from the outset, some 70% said that they were satisfied.

Despite this level of misunderstanding, and the resulting hit to satisfaction, the threat of cannibalisation across the form factors is very real. IDC's latest note on this shows that Netbook shipments in Q1 09 of 5.7mn units contributed, in some way, to a decline in Notebook sales of around 3.1mn units. As such, the industry needs to find a way of explaining that Netbooks are not the smaller and lighter Notebooks many clearly think they are. In fact, the NPD report found that around 60% of consumers said they bought a Netbook because of the enhanced portability factor, while a majority of those who bought a Netbook never take their Netbooks out of the house! Marketing - looks like it's over to you...

Tesco Q1

2009-06-16T15:29:00.002+01:00

Tesco has just published its results for Q1 2010. Revenues increased by 9.7%, although excluding petrol, the increase was 12.6%. Much of this growth came from outside the UK - 11.4% at constant currency, but a whopping 20.1% using 'actual' exchange rates. The non-food side of the business 'resumed modest like-for-like growth', and this includes electricals.

Kesa Exits Switzerland

2009-06-16T14:43:00.002+01:00

Kesa Electricals announced earlier today that it hopes to sell its Swiss operations to the electrical retail chain FUST for CHF20mn. Reuters said that analysts see this move as an early indication of things to come from the new CEO, Thierry Falque-Pierrotin. More will be announced when Kesa publishes its full year results on 24th June.

Selling via Twitter

2009-06-13T15:52:00.003+01:00

Since 2007, Dell has generated some $2mn revenues at Dell Outlet which can be attributed directly to Twitter activity. An additional $1 in revenue can be indirectly attributed to Dell's Twitter initiative as some customers go on to buy a new system elsewhere on Dell.com.

Dell Outlet sells three types of product:

Product Returns which have been refurbished to meet all original factory specifications;
Previously Ordered New systems which were subsequently cancelled, or returned with the packaging intact and unopened; and
Scratch and Dent products with 'cosmetic' blemishes, but which don't affect performance.

For Dell Outlet in the US, go here. For Dell Outlet in Europe [UK], go here.

Arcandor Bankruptcy

2009-06-09T14:28:00.004+01:00

After several weeks of unfruitful negotiations - with potential suitors, and also with the German government - Arcandor has today filed with the Essen District Court to open insolvency proceedings. Principal subsidiaries, Karstadt, Warenhaus, Primondo and Quelle, have also applied for protection from their creditors. Thomas Cook, which is majority owned by Arcandor, is operationally and financially distinct from the other parts of Arcandor, and is therefore unaffected by the insolvency proceedings. Overall, this procedure affects some 43,000 employees, although their salaries are protected until August as part of the insolvency allowance.

Reports have suggested that Metro is still interested in buying some 60 Karstadt stores, and Otto - which is considered to be the world's largest mail order firm - might be interested in parts of Primondo.

Staples

2009-06-02T22:32:00.012+01:00

Metro not merging with Arcandor

2009-06-02T22:32:00.011+01:00

In the past few weeks, Metro has been linked with stricken Arcandor as a possible buyer of the Kardstadt department store chain. In a recent press release, Metro explained that there were no merger negotiations with Arcandor. Metro already owns the Galeria Kaufhof department store chain.

DSGi

2009-06-02T22:32:00.010+01:00

Dell Q1/10

2009-06-02T22:32:00.009+01:00

Dell's results for Q1 2010 show revenues down by 23% to $12.3bn, operating income down 54% to $0.41bn, and net income down 63% to $0.29bn. The consumer side of the business was down 16% to $2.8bn, with operating income at 'break-even'. Unit shipments, however, were up by 12%. Dell now claims to have its product on sale in some 30,000 retail outlets worldwide.

Apple Remodels Stores

2009-05-29T18:09:00.002+01:00

Ron Johnson, Apple's SVP of Retail, has been talking to USA Today. He says that Apple will be opening 25 stores this year. This is down a little from the forecast of 35 - 40 given by CFO Oppenheimer at Apple's Q1 conference call. We are told that three of these store openings are to be in Europe - one in France, one in Italy, and one in Germany.

Johnson also explained that Apple plans to remodel some 100 of its stores this year, to make room for more customer training and more display space. The Genius Bar space is going to be increased by some 50%, and new display tables will enable 'twice the amount' of Macs and other products to be on display.

Despite this on-going investment in remodelling their stores, Johnson acknowledged that the recession has affected Apple's retail footfall. He says that while it is still strong, traffic is certainly down on last year.

HP Nosedive

2009-05-19T23:10:00.003+01:00

Hewlett Packard's 09Q2 numbers tell a very mixed story, and the supporting slide deck tells this story the best through its tables and charts. Overall sales are down by just over 3% compared with the same quarter one year ago [although at constant currency they were up by almost 3%]. But, PSG's [the Personal Systems Group] sales were down 19%, while IPG's [the Imaging and Printing Group] sales were down 23%.

PSG's desktop revenues fell by 24%, with notebook revenues falling by 13% year-on-year. But when measured by units, desktop sales were down 13%, while notebook sales were up by 14%.

IPG's hardware units were down 27% year-on-year, with consumer segment [principally ink jet printers] sales down by 23%, and the commercial segment [principally laser printers] sales down by a whopping 36%. Supplies revenues - for many years, the major contributor to HP's profits - were down 14%.

Overall, HP's figures are a better indication of the current state of the market than Intel's recent pronouncement that we've reached the bottom of the market. HP is principally a channel-centric company, using a two-tier distribution model in EMEA. That may mean that these numbers have, in some ways, been distorted by de-stocking activity at their wholesalers and also at the resellers and retailers. But that, should only be a one-time activity, and we saw evidence of de-stocking last quarter. So we must presume that HP's figures represent the reality of the marketplace, and that it is the on-going twin perils of price deflation and shrinking demand.

DSGi Sells

2009-05-19T23:09:00.003+01:00

Wal-Mart's Electronics

2009-05-19T23:09:00.001+01:00

Commission Ends

2009-05-19T23:08:00.000+01:00

Carphone Warehouse has announced that

Differentiation

2009-05-14T18:13:00.005+01:00

While price points will always be one element in the war for market share, PCs aren't all the same, and so price can't be the only differentiator. In a recent article - Decoding the Hype on Gadgets - David Pogue, the personal technology columnist for The New York Times, says that: "The cheapness of a computer is certainly an important factor. In fact, to some people, it's the single most important factor."

But, Pogue goes on to say that: "When something is made exclusively to be cheap, there's a price to be paid somewhere else. You may love your PC's cheapo price, but you may not love the manufacturer's low-rated, outsourced customer support. Or the ugly patchwork of stickers, logos and panels underneath. Or the huge, ungainly power brick. Or the obnoxious pre-installed junk-ware that drags the thing to a crawl from the first time you power it up. Or the annual antivirus-software subscription that you'll need for Windows. Or the time you'll lose trying to learn the potluck programs on your new PC from different companies, each with a different interface and conventions."

That's quite some rant from - it's clear to see - an avid Apple fan. But it could just as easily be about the differences between different PC brands - or, indeed, almost any core technology product. So why is it that so many retailers simply line up products, irrespective of brand or functionality, in a linear sequence based solely on price? That's just lazy retailing, and as a result, it's no surprise that consumers - especially those who aren't natural propeller heads - have precious little idea about how to choose the right product for their needs.

Attach

2009-05-13T14:59:00.005+01:00

IDC in the US has just released some headline data from its Beyond-the-Box survey. This survey tries to assess the size of the PC 'basket', while making a distinction between consumers and small businesses.

Within the first 12 months of buying a PC, a US consumer will spend an average of $0.87 on additional PC-related purchases for every $1.00 spent on a PC. More than 50% of the survey respondents buy these accessories in retail stores at the time of purchase, while a further 20% or so will buy from retailers' online web-shops.

For small businesses, more than 50% of their accessories budget is spent at the time of purchasing a PC, while a further 26% of their budget is spent within the next three months. Small businesses [defined by IDC as those with less than 100 employees] spend an average of $284 on accessories and such like for each PC they buy.

Simon Herrick

2009-05-10T12:32:00.002+01:00

Simon Herrick, CFO at Kesa, was one of the attendees at last week's World Retail Congress in Barcelona. According the The Observer, Herrick's hopes for his firm is today's tough climate were taken from a quote by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes who, when asked what he had done during the French Revolution, answered 'Survived'".

Best Buy: Private Label

2009-04-28T11:55:00.000+01:00

Fnac Q1/09

2009-04-25T05:29:00.003+01:00

PPR has just released its results for Q109. Fnac saw year-on-year sales decline by a little over 4%, with the best results coming from Belgium and Brazil, and the worst results coming from Spain. In France - its biggest market - Fnac's sales were down by 4.5%, despite a 10%+ rise in online sales.

Logitech Q4/09

2009-04-25T05:15:00.004+01:00

Logitech has just announced its Q409 results, with overall year-on-year sales down by 32% - 36% in EMEA, 33% in the Americas, and 14% in Asia. While it's clear that the economic downturn is the principal cause of this decline, Logitech say that de-stocking in the channel has been a significant contributor. This trend has been affecting pretty much all hardware suppliers in recent months, but presumably at some point equilibrium will be reached and the sell-in and sell-out numbers will once again become aligned. Only at that point will we really be able to see the true impact of the recession on demand.

Lexmark Q1/09

2009-04-21T13:50:00.006+01:00

Lexmark has reported Q1 revenues down by some 20% compared to the same period last year. According to segment information recorded in Lexmark's Form 8K, revenues in the US were down 14%, in Europe they were down 23%, and elsewhere in the world, they were down 26%. Overall, hardware revenues declined by 30%, while supplies revenues declined by 16%.

Tesco 2008

2009-04-21T13:50:00.001+01:00

Arcandor Restructures

2009-04-21T13:49:00.000+01:00

Best Buy Reorganisation

2009-04-16T18:19:00.004+01:00

In its latest press release, Best Buy describes itself as a 'people powered organisation'. It says that: "The company's Blue Shirt employees are the core of Best Buy. As a people-powered organisation, Best Buy invests heavily in discovering and training employees in customer service, product knowledge and financial acumen. As the store employees are closest to the customers, the company relies on them for their innovative ideas and feedback to enhance customers' shopping experiences".

But in a recent Associated Press piece that quotes Bernstein analyst Colin McGranahan's latest note on Best Buy, we learn that a new reorganisation program will lead to job cuts and lower pay for thousands of Best Buy's Blue Shirts. McGranahan estimates that some 1,000 salaried assistant store managers could be cut, and around 8,000 senior associates could receive pay cuts as they are demoted to more junior sales associate roles.

If we go back to March 2007, this type of action may seem all too familiar. Back then, Circuit City laid off some 3,400 of its highest paid sales associates, replacing them with lower paid - and lower skilled - employees. And we all know what happened to Circuit City.

Electro World

2009-04-16T10:59:00.003+01:00

Electro World is DSGi's chain of some 36 superstores in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Greece and Turkey. Last November, it was reported that the Eastern European stores were to be put up for sale. Now, there are suggestions in the local media that Slovak company Nay Elektrodom wants to buy these stores. Enterprise Investors took at 48% stake in Nay back in 2005, so presumably the funds can be made available if the business case looks good.

Bottomed Out?

2009-04-15T09:05:00.003+01:00

Intel published its Q1 results yesterday. Year-on-year comparisons make for uncomfortable reading - revenues down by 26% and net income down by 55%. But, Intel's CEO, Paul Otellini, said: "We believe PC sales bottomed out during the first quarter and that the industry is returning to normal seasonal patterns". Nevertheless, Intel declined to issue a formal revenue projection for Q2.

Stalking Horse

2009-04-14T14:41:00.004+01:00

Systemax has announced that it has signed a 'stalking horse' agreement to purchase various assets of Circuit City's eCommerce business for $6.5mn, plus a share of the revenues generated from the utilisation of those assets over a 30 month period. The 'stalking horse' process is, in principle at least, relatively simple, but it can be a legal minefield. What it does mean is that we will have to wait awhile to see if the sale goes through.

Systemax did something similar with CompUSA in early 2008.

CompUSA 2.0

2009-04-11T20:41:00.004+01:00

Some 15 months ago, Systemax agreed to buy the CompUSA brand, trademarks, eCommerce business, and a handful of stores. This followed CompUSA's earlier acquisition by Gordon Brothers Group, a specialist 'restructuring' firm, back in December 2007.

Now, Wired blogger Priya Ganapati has posted a lengthy article about the resurrection of CompUSA stores. It seems as if there is an attempt to build a seamless multi-channel approach by the 'soft integration' of CompUSA's stores with Systemax's Tiger Direct online business. What's not clear, though, is whether the physical stores act more as a showroom for product which is eventually bought online - whether that be from Tiger Direct or elsewhere.

Systemax trades as Misco in Europe.

Dark Forces

2009-04-08T14:12:00.006+01:00

Today's FT reports on a recent circular by Redburn Partners' analyst Robert Miller. Miller says that: "We have long felt that two dark forces of the electricals industry - deflation and online attrition - made the off-line electricals leaders in the UK and France [DSGi and Kesa's Darty] uninvestable... there are fledgling signs that both of these dark forces may be neutralising". If Miller is correct, then this is very good news for European electricals specialists.

DSGi Nordic Closures

2009-04-04T08:58:00.003+01:00

DSGi has announced that it will be closing 27 stores in Sweden and Finland. In Sweden it will shut all 8 PC City stores. In Finland, 19 of the Markantalo stores will be closed, with the remaining 4 stores converted into DSGi's other Finnish brand, Gigantti. Markantalo and Gigantti are part of Elkjop, the leading electrical retailer in the Nordics. DSGi acquired Elkjop in 1999.

Surcouf

2009-04-03T12:12:00.002+01:00

Surcouf is a small outpost of the PPR empire. It's been up for sale for over a year, and now it appears to have found a buyer - Hughes Mulliez, a scion of the retailing family which owns majority stakes in Auchan, Boulanger and many other chains. Hughes Mulliez founded the electronics chain Youg's about 10 years ago. The holding company - L'Association Familiale Mulliez - makes the extended Mulliez family one of the richest in France.

Best Buy 2008

2009-03-27T06:49:00.001Z

Metro 2008

2009-03-25T06:41:00.000Z

Best Buy Remix

2009-03-23T21:28:00.001Z

Best Buy Remix is an API [Application Programming Interface] Project based on Best Buy's product catalog data. It was founded by Kevin Matheny, Best Buy's senior eBusiness architect, in September 2008.

According to Internet Retailer, Best Buy is currently demonstrating ConsumersPrice.com - a site where consumers can request alerts of future Best Buy product pricing, and subsequently record voice reviews of products. ConsumersPrice.com is run by Ribbit, a company acquired by BT last Summer.

As Internet Retailer explains, a shopper looking for a product will be able to enter a preferred price on a specific product configuration and request an SMS or email alert whenever the product becomes available at or below the preferred price. Various social media like Twitter, Flickr and others are also available on this site.

ConsumersPrice.com is still in its beta test period.

Lexmark's ISD

2009-03-23T13:18:00.000Z

Lexmark is changing the name of its Consumer Printer Division [CPD] to Imaging Solutions Division [ISD] because it is primarily targeting the SoHO and SMB segments via the retail channel. In the US, it has just announced its latest printer line-up which will be stocked at Fry's, InkStop, MicroCenter, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples. This seems like yet another aspect of Lexmark's previously announced shift in direction for its consumer business from selling units to selling pages. Lexmark is attracted by the lower end of the business market, which behaves in a similar fashion to the consumer segment, because it prints far more pages, and hence consumes much more ink and toner per unit.

Staples 2008

2009-03-13T22:25:00.003Z

Carrefour 2008

2009-03-13T22:25:00.001Z