A one per cent increase in its half year sales, which came in at £4.9bn, generated nowhere enough to even out the £440m loss incurred during the period. By way of comparison, for the same period last year, it had generated a £54m profit. The business which is now, progressing with its turnaround programme, led by CEO Alex Baldock, has incurred £490m of charges which included a significant write off at Carphone Warehouse where 102 stores are being closed as the mobile phone market becomes tougher due to reduced demand. It had also made provision to cover the £17m cost incurred from the cyber attack it suffered in 2017 prior to Baldock’s tenure, in which 5.9 million bank card details and 10 million personal data records were hacked and which was revealed by the retailer in the summer.
Baldock said: “There are headwinds and uncertainty facing any business serving the UK consumer, we’ve had our own challenges, and our plan will take time.”
Now also facing significant competition online in most of its key product categories at Currys and PC World, it is planning to stock a greater range of small electrical products as well as deeper ranges of gaming hardware and accessories. Baldock commented: “We want to make our stores magnets for discovery and palaces for people who have got half an hour to spare and know they’ll head into a Currys or PC World because they know there is going to be something exciting there.”
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