Dixons closes all Pixmania stores
Electricals group Dixons Retail has closed all of its Pixmania stores and plans to withdraw from 12 of the 26 countries in which it operates as part of plans to turn the struggling French business around.
Dixons has closed around 30 Pixmania stores since the start of the year including outlets in Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The company also shut ten stores in France last weekend although it will continue its online operations in the countries.
Phil Brabeck, Pixmania chief executive, said: “The difficult markets in which we operate have forced us to rethink our ambitions, and we decided to close our stores to invest more on our website.”
According to Bloomberg Pixmania has also exited 12 online markets within Austria, Switzerland and eastern Europe.
Never Miss a Retail Update!In August last year, Dixons bought an additional 22% stake in Pixmania, taking its total holding to 99% after the division made an underlying loss of £19.8 million in the year to 28 April 2012.
At the time, Dixons chief executive Sebastian James said: “Pixmania’s own trading business continues to face strong market headwinds and this move will also allow us to manage the company in line with the group’s wider strategy and take the decisive actions necessary to improve its performance.”
