Founder Charles Dunstone said the company is poised to open a second base for the service, which helps people struggling with technology problems, in Manchester in the next few weeks. He plans to roll it out nationwide over the next two years.
The expansion plans are the latest sign of the growing importance of consumer support services from retailers and come on the back of a strong trading update last week, with connections up more than 19 per cent and first-half profits to be between£53 million and£56 million.
To date, there are 40 geeks operating out of a base next to Carphone Warehouse’s headquarters at Acton in West London. The service is also available nationwide by phone. There will be about six geeks at the new Manchester base initially.
Dunstone told Retail Week that the quality of the staff and service has placed the Geek Squad ahead of rivals. “Every review we’ve had, the Geek Squad always comes out on top,” he said.
“We haven’t lost any geeks yet. If you’re interested in this type of work, Geek Squad is the authentic product – it’s the Coca-Cola of home support.”
Carphone Warehouse brought Geek Squad to the UK earlier this year as part of its growing partnership with US electricals giant Best Buy, which created the service in the US in 1994. In return, Best Buy has opened mobile stores in the US based on the Carphone model.
While Best Buy has built a stake in Carphone, the initiative is thought to be more down to the companies’ close working relationship than plans for a bid.
Carphone has been picked as the sole UK retail distributor for the Apple iPhone, which launches on November 9.
Ahead of this, it has unveiled an Apple product-focused store on Oxford Street, where the lower level is devoted to products from the iconic US brand.
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