Following today’s release of Currys’ figures for the year ending 29th April 2023; Zoe Mills, lead retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “Amid a tough economic climate that has seen consumers deprioritise big-ticket items such as electricals, Currys has been unable to do much to weather this storm. Against a pandemic-elevated comparative, group sales declined 7% on a like-for-like basis, with a consistent performance across both its UK & ROI and international operations. Yet despite these softer sales, Currys is forecast to have strengthened its position in the electrical sector in 2022, stealing back share lost to online pureplays such as Amazon and AO during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its investment in online continues to pay dividends as more consumers utilise this channel compared to 2019. Yet, with many still desiring the ability to talk to staff instore before purchase, its offline presence remains invaluable as the shopper journey increasingly moves across channels.
“With significant sales declines, profits have taken a hit during the period. Currys has reported that it expects adjusted profit before tax to be in the region of £110-120m – a decrease of between -41% and -35%. This is, however, ahead of previous guidance of £104m, supporting a share price improvement in early morning trading today. Focus on its credit solutions will be essential to boosting prospects in 2023 given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, improving the affordability of its product range and encourage consumers to trade up to better quality electricals.
“These results have been supported by a stronger H2 and maintaining this momentum into FY2023/24 will be crucial amid a highly competitive market. Prospects in 2023 remain bleak, with the UK electricals market forecast to decline by a further 1.4% in this calendar year, driven by a weaker offline performance. Currys must remain wary of the plethora of online competitors vying for sales, with The Very Group, Amazon and AO posing a significant threat. Utilising its instore staff expertise must be its USP and it should ensure it highlights the quality of its customer service and aftercare through the shopper journey to retain appeal.”
