Dixons & Carphone Warehouse confirm merger talks
By Retail Technology | Monday February 24 2014
Electricals and mobile phone companies look at potential tie-up to take advantage of mutually beneficial product mix and services offerings
Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse today issued a statement confirming the companies are considering a potential business merger.
The statement said: “These discussions are at a very preliminary stage and there can be no certainty that a transaction will be forthcoming.”
It also noted that no decision has been reached regarding the structuring of any such merger, and so both companies are being treated as offerees until further notice.
Dixons Retail is the second largest electricals retailer in Europe with its Currys, PC World and Dixons Travel brands, and Carphone Warehouse is the region’s largest independent mobile phone retailer.
Mutual benefit barring conflict of interests
Retail analyst Planet Retail commented that, given the companies’ European presence and product mixes, it believes a merger would be mutually beneficial for both parties.
It pointed to the Dixons Retail partnership with Carphone Warehouse’s UK rival Phones 4u nearing the end of its contract. “Striking a deal with Carphone Warehouse would mean the retailer could free its stores of Phones 4u inserts and replace them with Carphone Warehouse shop-in-shops instead,” stated the analyst.
Dixons only last week unveiled a shop-in-shop venture with Samsung at its new Chichester Currys & PC World Superstore revamp.
“One possible fly in the ointment could be the Metro Group-controlled Central European operation Media-Saturn,” added Planet Retail, where Carphone Warehouse on the continent is involved in several co-operative ventures with the business via its Phone House banner, most notably in the Netherlands, where it signed an exclusive long-term co-operation agreement as recently as December 2013.
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