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> O2 to buy The Link chain for £30m
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Britain's biggest electrical retailer, DSG International, is selling The Link - its chain of mobile phone stores.
Spanish-owned operator O2 will pay about £30m for DSG's 60% sake in the firm, which has struggled against online and High Street competition.
The Link employs 2,300 staff in 300 stores across the UK.
DSG, which also owns the Dixons, PC World and Currys.digital chains of electrical stores, also reported a 4% fall in annual profits to £318.2m.
DSG said that the retail market for mobile phones had "changed significantly" and was now best suited to networks and telecom services providers.
"The sale of The Link will enable us to focus on our core multi-channel electrical and computing formats as we pursue our leadership ambitions across Europe," the company said.
Greg Hodge, an analyst at Planet Retail, told the BBC that The Link had struggled to win over customers in recent years.
"It has been the thorn in DSG's side for some time now," Mr Hodge said.
"It has been pigeon-holed as a pre-paid mobile phone shop where as rivals like Carphone Warehouse and Virgin Mobile have built up a reputation for customer service.
"They are getting their phones from there, or from places like Tesco or telecoms firms such as O2."
DSG is trying to make Dixons a strong online brand and is rebranding its Dixons high street stores as Currys.digital.
But it faces pressure from online retailers and supermarkets.
This is the first major UK deal involving O2 since the mobile phone operator was taken over by Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica last year.
Mobile phone companies are keen to promote their own-brand stores as a way of attracting new customers.
BBC News
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Posted: 2006-06-21 09:07:58
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wouldnt be because the link is going downhill would it?
i hope o2 buy them and make them into flower shops or something.
fatreg
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Posted: 2006-06-21 09:10:16
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lol, i think you're right there Mr Reg.
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Posted: 2006-06-21 09:18:56
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Maybe they'll make them into shops that sell oxygen bottles
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Posted: 2006-06-21 12:32:42
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Well... should be interesting in what they do.
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Posted: 2006-06-21 12:47:37
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