Dixons was a British high-street

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

er of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic ( analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usuall ...

, originally founded in 1937 as a photographic studio by Charles Kalms. The company would later deal in many consumer electronics, with nationwide outlets in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1984, Dixons purchased rival

Currys Currys (branded as Currys PC World between 2010 and 2021) is an electrical retailer and aftercare service provider operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, specialising in white goods, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phones. E ...

, though kept separate brand identities between the two stores. Dixons typically encompassed shopping centres and town centres, whereas Currys were larger stores in out-of-town retail parks. On 5 April 2006, it was announced that the Dixons brand in the United Kingdom would be superseded by

, branded as

Currys.digital Currys Digital was an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom owned by Currys plc, Dixons Carphone, with its origins in a photographic shop opened by Charles Kalms. The chain was known as ''Dixons'' until 2006, when parent company DSG Inter ...

. The Ireland subsidiary followed this in August 2008. Dixons continued to trade online as Dixons.co.uk, until 2012.

History

Dixons Sheffield store in 2000 (cropped)

The first Dixons was opened by Charles Kalms in

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

as a photographic studio in 1937. The business flourished during

the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, as there was much demand for photographic services and family portraits. By the end of the war, Kalms had opened seven more studios in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

area. The demands for portrait services decreased considerably after the war, and he was forced to close all but one studio in

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

, north London. The company was taken over by his son Stanley Kalms, who was chairman until September 2002. On 5 April 2006, Dixons announced that there would no longer be any Dixons shops in Britain; shops would henceforth be named

. This was said to signal a shift to more Internet based selling and to "reduce confusion". Dixons stores were to be retained in Ireland, and in locations such as airports, and the Dixons website would continue. The Dixons subsidiary in Ireland was discontinued in August 2008, renamed to

. A Dixons.ie internet site was set up. Dixons branches in airports were re branded as Dixons Travel from January 2009, and the new format was rolled out to many airports in the United Kingdom.

Closure

In October 2012, Dixons Retail announced that they would no longer trade using Dixons.co.uk website. Customers were then redirected to the Currys and PC World websites, where all remaining orders and agreements were honoured.

Dixons Travel

Dixons Travel was a technology retailer, with stores in four airports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is a division of Currys Retail, a subsidiary of

Currys plc Currys plc, formerly Dixons Carphone plc, is a British multinational electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company headquartered in London, England. It was formed on 7 August 2014 by the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone ...

. It was initially established as Dixons Tax Free in June 1994 to relaunch the Dixons brand in airport locations. The name changed to Dixons Travel in January 2009. A branch in Brussels trades under the Knowhow brand. On 28 April 2021, Dixons Carphone announced the closure of the Dixons Travel business, due to the removal of

tax-free shopping Tax-free shopping (TFS) is the buying of goods in another country or state and obtaining a refund of the sales tax which has been collected by the retailer on those goods. The sales tax may be variously described as a sales tax, goods and servi ...

from UK airports from December 2020, and lower passenger numbers during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The company stated that the Dixons Travel business had historically contributed annual profits of over £20 million to the Dixons Carphone group. As of June 2021, Dixons Travel had reopened its stores in

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...

's Terminal 1,

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

's North Terminal, and Heathrow Airport's Terminals 2 and 5. Other stores in Heathrow's Terminals 3 and 4 and the rest of the UK, Dublin's Terminal 2 reopened July 19, 2021. Oslo Airport, and stores on both the P&O '' Ventura'' and ''

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

'' cruise ships, remain closed, they later closed them again due to folding into

Legacy

As of October 2021, the Dixons intellectual property is currently owned by

, where it is used to operate

Dixons Travel Dixons was a British high-street retailer of consumer electronics, originally founded in 1937 as a photographic studio by Charles Kalms. The company would later deal in many consumer electronics, with nationwide outlets in the United Kingdom a ...

References

External links

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Dixons Travel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixons (Online) 1937 establishments in England Consumer electronics retailers of the United Kingdom Currys plc Online retailers of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1937 Retail companies of England