Dixons Says Multichannel Rises 25% In Six Months

Dixons Retail said this morning that multichannel sales rose 25 per cent at its UK and Ireland business in the second half of the financial year.

The boost helped increase like-for-like sales at stores by 7 per cent in the full-year to the end of April, an acceleration on the increase of 3 per cent in the first half. The surge in store sales followed the demise of Comet which collapsed at the beginning of November and led to a fire sale of goods.

Like-for-like sales in the final quarter of the year increased 13 per cent in the UK and Ireland, it said.

Multichannel growth appeared to slow compared to the first six months when the retailer said sales at Currys and PC World increased 29 per cent and 38 per cent respectively.

However, the company said: 'This year we have invested in improving our multichannel offer in all of our core   markets. The has involved expanding and enriching the ways in which customers can shop with us improving the link between the store experience and the online experience to make the transition as simple and seamless as possible.'

'We also believe that our online proposition, particularly on mobile devices, is one of the best in the market and have radically overhauled the way in which we communicate with customers away from traditional advertising methods,' it said.

Group sales increased 4 per cent to £8.21 billion. Underlying profit increased 15 per cent to £94.5 million. Underlying profit growth in the UK increased 39 per cent to £113.3 million. Group losses were £115.3 million, about the same as last year, as it wrote off the cost of exiting non-core businesses.