British electrical retailer DSG International said today it would switch all its 190 Dixons high street stores to the Currys.digital brand and focus the Dixons division on Internet retailing.
Currys will become a 550-strong chain of stores in the process, while Dixons will build on its 50 per cent year-on-year Internet sales growth over the last four years.
"Customer buying behaviours are developing with the growth in broadband usage," said chief executive John Clare. The conversion of Dixons stores to Currys.digital is expected to start in early May, said DSG, which also owns PC World and mobile phone store chain The Link.
"It's a good move, but we're still negative on all electrical retailers, as they're suffering price deflation and more and more competition from online retailers and supermarkets," said one London analyst.
"And this will only increase the degree to which Dixons online sales are cannibalising stores sales," he added.