33 'unsustainably loss-making' Dixons Travel outlets set to be shuttered affecting 400 staff

Dixons Carphone is to permanently crushed its airdrome stores that employment 398 staff, amid mounting losses and pursuing nan British government's discontinuation of airside tax-free shopping astatine nan commencement of 2021.

The determination to shutter nan Dixons Travel outlets was confirmed successful a trading update covering nan 51 weeks ended 24 April, which show group turnover rising 14 per cent year-on-year arsenic online income much than doubled to £4.5bn.

A spokesperson told The Reg: "Today's announcement follows an unprecedented twelvemonth for nan recreation industry, which has seen UK hose rider volumes autumn by 75 per cent successful 2020 owed to COVID-19 restrictions.

"This, coupled pinch our anticipation that rider numbers will not retrieve sufficiently to compensate for nan removal of nan tax-free shopping concession by nan UK Government from 1 January, intends Dixons Travel, which makes up conscionable 1 per cent of our UK&I trading space, has go unsustainably loss-making.

"We are, therefore, proposing to adjacent our Dixons Travel business. We're assured we'll beryllium capable to connection immoderate of nan affected colleagues who want to enactment different domiciled elsewhere successful Dixons Carphone."

As good arsenic being located successful awesome airports crossed nan UK, successful Dublin and Oslo, 2 of nan stores were tally arsenic concessions connected P&C cruises.

In different challenging news for Dixons staff, nan institution confirmed that "as portion of our Mobile transformation" it has closed its Carphone Warehouse stores successful nan Republic of Ireland. This was not a astonishment fixed nan ample number of standalone Carphone stores successful nan UK that person been closed successful caller years.

As for nan financials, nan group was up 13 per cent year-on-year successful nan UK and Ireland for nan 51 weeks, and world income grew 16 per cent, including a 17 per cent emergence successful nan Nordics and 9 per cent successful Greece. The afloat audited results will beryllium published connected 30 June.

The institution said that fixed nan "strong financial position", it had "reimbursed each authorities support for nan £73m of furlough paid to UK&I colleagues during nan year." The institution expects profit earlier taxation for nan twelvemonth to beryllium successful statement pinch existent forecasts of £151m.

At nan halfway shape of Dixons' fiscal '21, CEO Alex Baldock was questioned astir repaying nan support money. He and chap execs took a 20 per cent salary trim past twelvemonth arsenic lockdown measures spot difficult connected bricks-and-mortar retailers. Baldock was paid £850,000 successful nan twelvemonth to April 2019. ®