The electricals retailer, which was expected to reveal pre-tax profits of between£200 million and£210 million in its preliminary results as Retail Week went to press, has launched the scheme into its PC World stores. It has been borne out of a mobile broadband and free laptop offer, which debuted this time last year in selected PC Worlds at about the same time as a similar offer from Carphone.
Chief executive John Browett was expected to update the City on the initiative, which the retailer believes is a “natural progression” for PC World as it moves from selling primarily hardware to selling hardware with connection services.
The move mirrors the strategy being driven by Carphone, which will focus on connectivity services and products as it moves deeper into the electricals sector following its tie-up with US electricals giant Best Buy.
PC World has rolled out three-bay gondolas to its 160 UK stores, promoting the three elements of Get Connected. The scheme allows customers to choose from up to 15 laptop models when they take a broadband subscription or a maximum£450 discount off any laptop in the retailer’s range, dependent upon the subscription plan chosen. Customers can take the laptop home fully connected with mobile broadband.
Broadband offers for existing laptop owners and combined home broadband and digital TV packages form the remaining two prongs of the initiative. Previously, broadband was only sold as an add-on to TV packages.
PC World head of commercial development Glenn Orchard said: “Connectivity and content services are as important to customers as the hardware they buy.”
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