The Link (retailer)
The Link is a mobile phone retailer in the United Kingdom. It was formerly 60% owned by DSG International plc, the UK's largest consumer electronics retail group, and 40% owned by O2, the British telecommunications company. DSG International also sells mobile phones in its Dixons and Currys chains, but many of its high street branches are small and hard to expand, so it opened a separate chain to provide more capacity for mobile phone sales. It did a similar thing in the computer market when it purchased Vision Technology Group Ltd (VTA) who owned PC World which was quickly expanded into the huge force that it is today. The first branch of The Link opened in 1994 and as of August 2005 there were 295 branches. The Link's annual sales in 2004/05 were £428 million.
On June 21 2006, The Link was sold to O2 for £30 Million. The Deal included all of The Links 300 stores. Source: BBC News.
The Link's principal competitors include Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U, and the in-house retail chains of the UK's five main mobile phone companies. It sells phones for all of the five main companies and also for some of the resellers that operate in the UK.
Nick Wood, the Managing director of The Link, left the company to take over the running of the failing Dixons chain of electronics retailers. After substantially turning around the fortunes of Dixons, he was brought back to replace his own replacement, Elizabeth Fagan, after poor performance of The Link under her management. He quickly made his mark, applying an easier to understand commission structure, and placed four "live" models of phones in stores, and expanded the product range to include MP3 players and satellite Navigation systems.
The Link decided a rebrand was in order and the replacement of the older adverts with new, comedy sketches featuring the Ken and Kenneth characters from The Fast Show selling mobile phones was a change that would hopefully drive sales. A new logo was created, and the in-store look dramatically overhauled. "Music" is the main focus of The Link now according to Nick Wood, and he hopes this will turn the fortunes around. but matt smells of poo!
External links
- Official site - this is a consumer focused site. Corporate information can be found in the DSG International Group website
- DSG International website