NEWS


Electrical retail industry triumphs at 2024 Which? Awards


Which? recently announced the winners of its 2024 Which? Awards. The winners of the 12 categories were announced by BBC Presenter, Victoria Derbyshire, at the ceremony which took place in London on 20 May. Beko won Best Value Appliance Brand as it has the


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most impressive Which? ‘Great Value’ endorsement strike rate, both historically and currently. The judges felt that given the ongoing cost of living crisis, Beko stood ahead of its competitors in this regard. The other shortlisted companies in this category were Cookology, Hisense and Logik. Elsewhere, LG was announced as the 2024 Which?


Home Entertainment Brand of the Year, beating Bowers & Wilkins, JBL, Marshall and Samsung to the title. The Which? Retailer of the Year award was given


to Richer Sounds; the retail firm has won this same award several times in recent years. The runners-up in this category were Euronics and John Lewis. In fact, Euronics was also shortlisted for Which? Customer Service Brand of the Year too. Anabel Hoult, Which? Chief Executive, said: “This year we launched a new Customer Service award to recognise best practice in the industries and encourage firms to follow the winner’s lead. Whether they’ve been awarded for high customer scores in


our survey, excellent customer support, or great value products, all of this year’s awardees should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”


Currys enjoys a strong end to the year with sales uplift


Currys has said it made “a strong finish” to its financial year as group like-for-like sales returned to growth with an uplift of two per cent in the 16 weeks to 27 April, thanks to “improved trading momentum”.


This follows a three per cent decline in its peak trading period for the 10 weeks to 6 January. At the start of the year the electrical retail giant predicted adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to be between £105 million and £115 million; it has now upgraded that expectation to £115-120 million. Alex Baldock, Currys Group Chief Executive, said the company’s performance is strengthening, with “good momentum” in the UK and Ireland, and with the Nordics “getting back on track”… “Sales are now growing again, margins are benefiting from higher customer adoption of solutions and services, and cost discipline is good,” he explained. “All this means improved profits and, with our strong cash position, we’re well set up for the year ahead.”


Also this month, the retail chain announced it is transforming 65 of its stores to “better cater to customers’ tech needs” – part of its continuing strategy to improve the customer experience. The company plans to change 90 per cent of the existing space in these stores to make them more navigable for the customer in the hope that it will also enable them to showcase a wider range of product. The store revamp will continue throughout 2025. Matthew Speight, Director of Stores at Currys, said: “Investing in our retail fundamentals is critical to delivering


value for our customers, and in particular, improving our store layouts and growing in-store ranges.” The first three stores undergoing this transformation


are Aberdeen Garthdee, Bristol Winterstoke and Grantham. Once the works are complete, the stores will feature increased ranges across TV and computing, more efficient in-store mobile areas, and back-of- house improvements to support store colleagues. In addition, Currys is investing in the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to also enhance its operations and elevate its customers’ shopping experience. Microsoft and Accenture are delivering the retailer’s


core cloud technology infrastructure; their joint venture, Avanade, will modernise, secure and simplify its technology estate to help accelerate its adoption of Microsoft AI technologies. Currys said it plans to make it easier for customers to shop using personalised relevant product information and suggestions tailored to their needs, as well as providing customers with improved post- sales and warranty services.


Mr Baldock added: “AI is the biggest technological


leap of our lifetime. We aim to put Currys at the forefront of digital transformation in retail, and I’m looking forward to unlocking big benefits for our colleagues, customers and shareholders.”


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