Category Archives: Retail suppliers

Electrical retailer Hughes invests £750k in upgrading facilities in Ipswich

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electrical goods retailer has completed £750k worth of works on its Ipswich premises to create a “state-of-the-art” facility.

Around 150 people now work at the 33,000sq ft Hughes Electrical plant on Felixstowe Road – which houses departments including a call centre, web management, a trade outlet, a retail shop and a depot.roof of the building now supports 774 solar panels capable of producing up to 301kW of energy as part of the firm’s commitment ot net zero customer deliveries.

Hughes – which has owned the site since 1998 – said it had made the investment for several reasons.”It is the perfect location to develop a business hub, for now and the future, serving a vital geographical area for our business,” he said.

“We want to be an integral part of its development and growth.

“We see it as both a cultural and operational centre for Hughes. It is also the ideal location for our newly created rental call centre, underlining the importance of the rapidly growing rental side of our business.”

The site is set to become the base for trialling electric vans, and will also see the installation of large batteries to store electricity generated from the solar panels.family-owned company, started just over a century ago, is the country’s fourth largest specialist electrical retailer and the biggest provider of home entertainment and kitchen appliance rentals.

It has stores in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire

Frasers getting into appliance retail

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Frasers has upped its stake in AO World and Currys as it continues its acquisition spree.

The Mike Ashley owned group raised its holdings in the Bolton-based online electrical retailer for the third time this month to 22.2% from 21.3%.

It also lifted its shareholdings in Currys to 10.4%, which it said last week was part of a “strategic investment” as it looks to increase its “foothold in the electricals industry”.

Frasers acquires stake in Currys

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Frasers Group, the retail empire founded by billionaire entrepreneur Mike Ashley, has snapped up an 8.9% stake in Currys, with the news coming a little over a week after the group acquired a substantial portion of online electricals retailer, AO World.

Frasers’ shareholding in Currys is worth around £53.5m given the firm’s market capitalisation of £601.9m.

Currys reviews Greek business

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Currys has launched a strategic review of its Greek business Kotsovolos, which it said could lead to the sale of its operations.

The electricals retailer said it believes the strength of its Greek brand and long-term track record of profitability “are not currently reflected in the group’s valuation”.

Kotsovolos, which also has an emerging presence in Cyprus, has a unified commerce platform and an expansive range of products and servicesChief executive Alex Baldock said: “Currys’ performance is robust in UK&I, where our transformation is working, and we’ve taken action to drive a profitable recovery in the Nordics.

“Kotsovolos is an excellent business with a bright future, and now is the right time to assess how best to take Kotsovolos forward to maximise value for our shareholders.”

Last month, Currys revealed its Nordic operations were being investigated by the European Economic Area regulator over a possible violation of competition rules in Norway

AO.com most trusted retailer

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AO.com is the UK’s most trusted major electricals retailer

Recently AO.com passed the incredible milestone of 400,000 reviews on Trustpilot, and we are delighted that so many of these reviews are four and five stars – 93% to be exact

It means that when it comes to major UK electricals retailers, AO.com has the largest volume of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews – with more than Currys, Argos and John Lewis combine

Currys Nordic business probed by European watchdog

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Currys Nordic subsidiaries are being probed by European regulator over competition infringement concerns
// The EFTA Surveillance Authority will look at whether the retailer had violated the rules while securing exclusive access to certain electric goods

Elkjøp is a leading retailer of electronic goods in the Nordics, with more than 400 stores across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as franchise operations in Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

The ESA said it was investigating whether the retailer had violated competition rules while securing exclusive access to some electric goods.

“The investigation will also look into arrangements where specific competitors have been denied access to certain electronic goods,” it said in a statement.

Last week, Currys raised its profit outlook following better-than-expected trading in the UK in the final two months of the year.

Currys raises profit outlook as UK beats expectations

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Currys has raised its profit outlook for 2022-23 after better-than-expected trading in the UK in the final two months of the year.

The electricals retailer had previously lowered its guidance in March due to the weak performance of its Nordics business, but said today it now expected to report a year to April 29 adjusted pre-tax profit of £110 to £120m.

This is ahead of previous guidance of around £104m, but down from the £186m made in 2021-22.