The genial Irishman has done a sterling job tackling the travails of Italy and PC World, but new chief executive John Browett will still face a bulging in-tray when he finally arrives in Hemel Hempstead next week.
It has not been a vintage year for the electricals giant. More than ever, the maxim that the poorly performing parts cancel out the positives held true in its half-year numbers. The interregnum following John Clare’s departure, which coincided with the unfortunate illness of chairman Sir John Collins, cannot have helped.
The company has taken decisive action, clearing the backlog of laptops at PC World and taking firm measures to try to turn around the dire performance of Italian chain UniEuro.
But don’t be surprised if former Tesco high-flier Browett springs a few strategic surprises. Clare was bold, but Browett will be the first man from outside Lord Kalms’ coterie to have run the business.
And his first question is likely to be whether DSGi has gone too far, too fast, internationally. As well as Italy, DSGi has had to contend this year with fraud and the failure of PC City in France, and even a fall in profits at its flagship Scandinavian business.
As Sir Geoff Mulcahy points out on page 18, being an international retailer is easy to talk about, but hard to achieve, and also runs the risk of taking one eye off the ball at home. So while Browett’s Tesco experience combined with DSGi’s buccaneering international approach should be a good fit, there may be some tough decisions ahead.
A crucial weekend
This will be a big weekend for retailers. With pay cheques clearing today, if shoppers don’t come out tomorrow and Sunday, it is safe to say that Christmas will be poor and next year worse still.
The picture is certainly not universal, but the sentiment in recent weeks is as bad as it has been at any time in the past three years. If payday fails to deliver, the only light at the end of the tunnel will be the proverbial oncoming train.
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