Carphone Warehouse overcomes 'dread' in Q3
In your glum face, Dunstone
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Smartphone sales and American connections are keeping Carphone Warehouse healthy, with the CEO telling investors that things are only going to get better for Blighty.
The company, now split from TalkTalk, still owns half of Best Buy Europe which has already opened three UK stores and plans to open another three later this year, along with an online operation which should be up and running by October. Meanwhile, the Carphone Warehouse stores are rapidly converting into Wireless World, and doing very nicely out of it.
CEO Roger Taylor has been telling people he reckons the UK's in good shape, and he's optimistic about the economic future.
At Carphone Warehouse connections dropped slightly, as did sales of cheap handsets, but retail revenue is up 3.7 per cent on last year thanks to more expensive smart phones bringing in more money. The premise of Wireless World is to provide punters with more help using their new phone, which makes sense as a modern smartphone can challenge the most computer-literate of users.
On the other side of the pond Best Buy Mobile has been busy connecting US customers, 1.43 million of them so far, and is on schedule to get more than 150 stand-alone stores opened by the end of the year.
Overall revenues for the 13 weeks to July 3 were £794m, up 2.7 per cent.
The interim quarterly report doesn't provide complete financials for the company, but things do seem to be going well for the company whose then-CEO Charles Dunstone told staff 18 months ago: "Everything I read and observe fills me with dread for the state of the whole global economy." Still, even then the good Mr Dunstone noted: "Those who are still standing by 2010 will have a bright future." ®
COMMENTS
carphone
i will concede that carphone had to do an element of cost cutting, but carphone warehouse had to modernise and streamline the company, it was way to bloated with too many layers
admittedly a few perks have had to be got rid off, such as bear bust. we had it good for a long time and in times of plenty the company can absorb the cost of having the whole company go out once a month for a piss up on them but over the last couple of years this had to be stopped, the ball was cancelled but is back again this october.
the best buy link in my eyes is a good thing, we have now got a partner who has very deep pockets and will in time buy the rest of the company, i also believe that the profit share that carphone has with the best buy mobile standalone stores and concessions in the states over time will eclipse the home market
i still believe in carphone and as a veteran of 9 years maintain that difficult decisions had to be made to safeguard the future of the compnay
Cost Cutting
The main reason why they have managed to post such large profits considering the climate is mainly due to the massive cost cutting they have implemented within the company. Mainly on staff benefits and pay, what the rosey figures dont show is since Best Buy have infiltrated the company they have slashed commission under the guise of "improving customer relations" reduced overall pay for staff and removed about 80% of all staff benefits which long term staff have enjoyed since the inception of CPW.
Why do I know this, because me and my colleagues who work for CPW are the ones feeling the brunt of it.
Warm up the superhet, Smithers!
"Wireless World" sounds like the sort of shop you'd visit in the 1930s to buy a big mahogany valve set with a dial that shows places like Daventry and Hilversum.
Mind you, "Carphone Warehouse" isn't exactly up-to-the-minute. It must be about 30 years since carphones were superseded by cellular phones.
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