After cutting a deal 18 months ago with the department store that saw Dick Smith take over all consumer electronic sales under the banner “David Jones Electronics Powered by Dick Smith” the Company has moved to position a series of premium products and brands via the 29 David Jones stores that are not sold in their main network stores.
When they mass retailer first took over the consumer electronics operations at Dick Smith they were forced to dump millions of dollars’ worth of ageing inventory into the market, since then the Company has been able to identify several premium brands such as Sonos wireless sound systems, Samsung Curved TV’s and Bose gear that appeals to the well-heeled David Jones customers.
Dick Smith chief executive Nick Abboud told The Australian recently “We are happy with the customer feedback we are getting through the David Jones sales channel, and are getting good momentum in sales. We have just had the first anniversary of our first store opening last week and we are talking big growth in (sales) against the first week last year,”
Dick Smith raised the curtains on its new David Jones format last October and it is believed fourth-?quarter sales growth of close to 100 per cent have carried through into the new financial year.
Currently David Jones sales account for 3% of Dick Smiths overall sales.
Among the products that are selling well at David Jones are large 4K TV’s and wireless sound systems.
The Australian reported that Woolworths South Africa, which has very little direct experience in running a home electronics and entertainment category, is keen to continue the collaboration, with 29 David Jones department stores at present housing a Dick Smith outlet and the 30th slated to open next week in Sydney’s Macquarie Shopping Centre. It still is dwarfed by the 283 branded Dick Smith stores in Australia.
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