Dixons UK logistics director Tim Allinson is in a chipper mood. He’s got his stock and staff in place for a busy Christmas in which the electricals retailer expects to sell one million tablets.

Tim Allinson

His team recently scooped the Retail Week Ligentia Supply Chain Team of the Year gong and his beloved Hull has just been named European Capital of Culture 2017.

“I think it’s fantastic for the city,” he says cheerily. “A lot people think it’s quite funny that Hull is associated with culture but it’s a fabulous big city with a village mentality and everybody looks out for each other. It’s got a great university, some great restaurants and a Premier League football team.”

Allinson, who is the son of a farmer, is proud of his Yorkshire roots. He was born in Aldbrough, a seaside town 12 miles from Hull. His childhood was characterised by a love of his local football team, then named Hull City.

But if Hull’s football pitch proved a fascination for Allinson, the scale of his current responsibilities is laid bare as he looks over Dixons’ Newark distribution and repair centre, which is the size of 65 pitches.

The sight is impressive - featuring carefully stacked fridge freezers and a hive of operators repairing damaged goods - and down-to-earth Allinson is in his element as we walk the floors of the vast distribution centre.

Amid the site sits a giant marquee loaded with stock. It was the speedy erection of this and the opening of an
old aircraft hangar as a temporary warehouse last Christmas in the face of Comet hitting the buffers that won Allinson’s team the supply chain award.

He convinced group boss Sebastian James and UK chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe that the rapid action would enable Dixons to meet extra demand in the market as Comet closed down. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing - the retailer underestimated the amount of stock Comet had, which it sold off cheaper than Dixons during its closing down Sale.

“It did get squeaky, I went on LinkedIn and tidied up my CV just in case,” he laughs. “But of course the sales came in the end and we won the day.”

It’s far from the first significant challenge Allinson has faced in a lengthy career in logistics. His first position in retail warehousing came at logistics giant Christian Salvesen in Hull, working on a Safeway contract in 1988.

“There were a lot of ex-dockers and it was incredibly unionised but I learnt a lot about people,” he says.

After further positions at Christian Salvesen on Marks & Spencer and Superdrug contracts, he made the switch to Tesco in 2001, at the crest of its expansion wave. Allinson had stints at several key UK warehouses and was eventually charged with building Tesco’s general merchandise chain in central Europe.

Following a period living and working in Bratislava, Allinson was brought back to the UK by now-Tesco chief financial officer Laurie McIlwee to run non-food operations. After that he joined then-Dixons boss, and former Tesco.com chief, John Browett to become a “bigger fish in a smaller pond” at the electricals specialist.

“Dixons was just revamping the stores and starting to think about multichannel and joining the Currys and PC World estates together - it’s been an exciting learning curve,” he says.

Allinson adds that Dixons’ management team of James and Bickerstaffe have the business on an upward trajectory and are a formidable pair.

As Christmas nears, he admits it is a tough time for the team. “This is where we earn our money. We love what we do and this is where we make the difference,” he says. “I can’t say I love Christmas itself - our team Christmas dinner is on January 31.”

But walking the corridors of Dixons’ Newark site, it seems like his team is doing its best to enjoy the festive period. Allinson chuckles at a ‘Whose tattoo?’ photo competition and a scheduled attempt at the Guinness World Record for mince pie-eating on its notice board.

With the tablets stacked high, he will hope strong sales will make that Christmas pudding taste all the sweeter come late January.

Career history

2009 to present Dixons UK, Logistics director

2001 to 2008 Tesco, various roles including non-food logistics director for Central Europe

1998 to 2001 Superdrug, southern regional distribution manager

1988 to 1997 Christian Salvesen, various roles