Dixons Carphone will close all 531 UK stores on 3 April
Dixons Carphone is to close all 531 of its Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK on 3 April, resulting in redundancy for 2,900 employees.
The electrical and mobile phone retailer said it would close all standalone Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK – the 70 stores in Ireland will remain open – and that it will now focus on selling mobile phones through its 305 Currys PC World stores and online.
The decision had been finalised on Monday night but had been in the planning stages for a while, meaning the closures are not a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Almost 1800 of its affected staff are set to take new roles elsewhere in the business.
Alex Baldock, the chief executive of Carphone’s parent group, Dixons Carphone, said: “Customers are changing very fast and we have to change with them. We can’t wait, even in this very difficult environment. The turbulent times and uncertain outlook [underline] the importance of taking action now.”
Enhanced redundancy packages have been offered to Carphone staff, with those on more than two years’ service receiving 75 per cent more than the statutory minimum.
The 1,700 staff with less than two years’ service, many of whom are part-time workers, will also reportedly receive between £500 and £750 on top of their statutory notice period.
Zoe Mills, Retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, commented on the news: “After a number of years of double digit declines in its mobile business, Dixons Carphone’s decision to shutter its standalone Carphone Warehouse stores is a necessary step to protect profits and adjust to the changing dynamic of the mobile phone market. With its mobile business expected to make a £90m loss this year, Dixons Carphone’s decision arguably comes a little late given that it is a destination for mobile phone contracts and the market has been moving towards phone ownership rather than contracts for a long time.”
