John Browett, the new chief executive of electricals group DSGi, is likely to shut as many as 200 of the retailer’s 700 UK stores, broker Credit Suisse has forecast.

Credit Suisse analyst Tony Shiret said that the growth of online retailing, technological convergence necessitating less retail space and product overlap between DSGi’s Currys and PC World chains meant closures would be on the cards.

Shiret expected a strategic review by Browett, who took the reins at DSGi last month, to trigger the space reduction programme. He said: “He’s got to do something reasonably decisive. Logically, it is the right thing for him to do. The problem he may have is doing this into a weaker property market.”

Shiret, who accurately forecast DSGi’s last swathe of store closures, expects DSGi to post like-for-like growth of 1 per cent over Christmas at its UK electricals division and a 3 per cent uplift at its computing arm.

No comment was available from DSGi.

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