Dixons poised to roll out new-look kitchen departments after pilot success

The retailer unveiled the changes a fortnight ago at its Currys PC World superstore in Lakeside Retail Park and is pleased with its initial performance.

A decision on whether to adopt the approach elsewhere is likely to be taken within the next two months.

Assuming the go-ahead is given, the model would be put into 25 more superstores and an edited version could be installed in another 100 stores measuring 25,000 to 35,000 sq ft.

Dixons UK and Ireland chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe said all pilots are developed with a roll-out in mind.

“Scaleability is very important,” she said. “Can you roll it out across the estate, can we keep the standards up? So far, and it’s week two, we’re very pleased with the results”

The Thurrock kitchens department features product such as cookware alongside the traditional offer of appliances and exclusive brands.

The shop has been designed to encourage browsing, improve adjacencies and enhance appeal to women shoppers. There are also in-store cookery displays which will be extended to include evening classes in skills such as kitchen-knife use.

The retailer ran 3,000 hours of staff training ahead of the department’s opening in order to deliver on its differentiating promise of high customer service and advice standards.

Bickerstaffe said: “You can have a beautiful store but the calibre of staff also needs to be very high.

“A lot of the products are quite specialist – you need advice and that comes back to our place in the world.”

She said that Dixons, which is in talks with Carphone Warehouse about a potential merger, is exploring how it might remodel and introduce complementary lines in other categories in a similar way as in the new kitchen department.