Dixons Carphone boss Seb James said Black Friday was their biggest trading day in history and sales were “well up” on last year’s discounting event.
James said the event differed from last year as trade was slow in the morning but surged later in the day.
The electricals and mobile phone powerhouse was one of many retailers that extended its Black Friday deals to a longer period, running 10 days of promotions.
James said the week of Black Friday was the retailer’s biggest sales week ever.
He said the discounting day was “absolutely gigantic” in the Nordic region.
Over the week, top sellers included Google’s Chromecast streaming device, virtual reality headsets – sales of which soared 1,000% – and fitness products.
James predicted that it would be a “toys Christmas” with drones and virtual reality headsets likely to be found underneath many Christmas trees.
Preparing for Brexit
Dixons Carphone, which unveiled a 19% jump in pre-tax profit in its first half this morning, said it was yet to see any Brexit-related impact on consumer demand.
However, James said it was planning for “the possibility of more uncertain times ahead”.
This includes reducing its fixed cost base, identifying areas of potential market share growth and “generally preparing for all eventualities – just in case”.
James said he was feeling “pretty optimistic” about the year ahead.
He said the price rises that many retailers plan to introduce to offset rising costs due to the weak pound would not impact Dixons Carphone’s customers.
James said models and technology evolve in the electricals sector, therefore its customers will not sense that prices have risen.
“I don’t think our customers will feel price changes. What we’re selling this year is very different to what we sold last year,” he said.
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