Ready to spring
All the pieces seem to be falling into place for the arrival of ‘big-box' Best Buy stores in Europe next year after Carphone Warehouse, which owns 50 percent of Best Buy Europe, reporting better than expected results for the first half of the fiscal year and raising its full-year forecast.
Carphone Warehouse Group PLC is going to demerge itself by the end of March 2010 into two separately listed companies. TalkTalk group PLC, which acquired Tiscali UK earlier this year, will focus on being an ISP.
Meanwhile Carphone Warehouse Group PLC, which also owns 48.8 percent of Virgin Mobile France and all of Carphone Property, will focus on technology retailing. The CPW stores are now part of Best Buy Europe.
"Both TalkTalk Group and Best Buy Europe have traded well in the first half of the financial year," said Charles Dunstone, CEO of CPW. "Each business has delivered a significant year-on-year improvement in operating free cash flow, with Headline EPS at the top end of market expectations. As a result, we are raising guidance for the full year to March 2010."
"[Best Buy Europe] continued to gain market share in a number of markets and particularly in the high-end smartphone category. Elsewhere within the division, Best Buy Mobile demonstrated clear profit expansion versus last year, whilst our Best Buy branded "Big Box" store openings remain fully on course for their Spring 2010 unveiling."
