James Frith, Member of Parliament for Bury North, visited Currys at Woodfields Retail Park in Bury last week to meet Currys’ store colleagues, and hear from the retailer about how it is combatting rising retail crime, as well as helping to eradicate digital poverty.
James met with store colleagues, hearing about Currys’ commitment to tackle retail crime by investing a record amount in store safety measures, including the introduction of VoCoVo headsets to keep colleagues better connected and therefore safer on the shop floor.
During the visit, James observed the new headsets in action, as well as hearing firsthand from store colleagues the impact it’s had on helping them feel safe. While in store, James was wowed by the LG OLED Evo TV, and tried out the Shark FlexBreeze Pro Mist Indoor & Outdoor Fan & Outdoor Misting.
He also heard about Currys’ efforts on a local and national scale to help eradicate digital poverty alongside charity partner the Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) through ‘Pennies’ donations in store. This allows Currys’ customers to donate to the DPA when buying products, with the milestone of 2 million customer donations reached in December 2024, totalling over £700k nationwide.
As part of Currys support for the DPA, and their goal of helping eradicate digital poverty by 2030, Currys announced in March that it will donate a proportion of every online sale of refurbished tech, across its mobile and computing categories, to the DPA, the funds going towards helping those living in digital poverty across the UK.
James Frith, MP for Bury North said: “It was brilliant to visit the Bury Currys store, meet my constituents, and talk with the team about the importance of tackling retail crime. It’s vital that stores across the UK are a safe and secure environment to work and shop in, and I commend Currys on their investment in innovative solutions to help tackle this important issue. I will continue to work closely with the police and local authorities to ensure we do everything possible to protect our communities.”
“I was pleased to hear about the work Currys are undertaking to help eradicate digital poverty. Access to digital services is crucial to give everyone the confidence and skills to thrive, and I commend Currys on their work in this important area, especially their collaboration with the Government on DSIT’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan.”
Mark Ridge, regional manager at Currys, said: “We loved hosting James in store, was great to discuss the rising rates of retail crime and Currys’ contribution to customers and colleagues in his constituency. We welcome and support the Government’s commitment to making aggression towards retail colleagues a specific standalone crime.
It’s a positive first step, but we won’t stop until the deterrents outweigh the gains for those who choose to come into our stores to steal, or who behave unacceptably towards colleagues. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to welcome the local Police in store to talk more about this with us, and will host James again soon.”
Jamal Havid, general manager, Currys Bury said: “It made me proud to show our local MP round our store and introduce him to all our amazing colleagues – they’re so passionate about helping our customers choose from our amazing tech options, and James saw that first hand! Looking forward to seeing what more we can do with James, and to support digital skills and digital inclusion in our community.”
