54 years of excellence 1948... As he leaves the role of Chairman, these pages celebrate the history of under the outstanding leadership of Sir Stanley Kalms over the past 54 years.

To be forward-looking is the very essence Our contribution is the strength of our 1972 of Dixons, but there are occasions when international buying and marketing and With 110 stores Dixons was now a little nostalgia, as captured in this our ability to turn complex technology a leading player photographic montage, may be excused. into attractive, consumer-friendly in hi-fi and cameras. Our roots in 1948 were so modest. propositions. Own brand Prinzsound A small suburban store selling cameras. offered hi-fi perfection while Chinon delivered Yet fortune smiled with opportunity. Our strength lies also in the quality superb cine-camera It was the right industry at the right of our staff and the service they offer value. time. I was 16 when I became manager from point of purchase to post sale. Our of my father’s store, with all the energy stores are attractive and inviting and we and enthusiasm of that age. continuously reinvent our offerings to meet the expectations of increasingly 1984 New technology met a rising level of savvy and demanding customers. The Group became the white goods customer expectation and we were a market leader with diligent supplier. Information technology has always been its acquisition of the a major investment and we try to be at 613 store century-old But it is important to understand why the cutting edge. chain and Mastercare, its the Group has been uniquely successful nationwide service in a relatively short timescale, and against Integrity, value and social responsibility organisation. the background, until the mid 1980s, are not buzz words. They represent core of extremely difficult economic and values and have done since Day One in social distractions. Growth until then 1948. Of course we make mistakes and, was truly an obstacle race. The revolution occasionally, poor judgements. If we slip of Margaret Thatcher’s support for the below our standards at times, that is market economy freed the talent and the nature of man. But our fallibility resources of the Group.We revelled in is always a spur to improvement. the increased competition in our market. It honed our skills and invigorated our Above all, an intensely competitive spirit young management. pervades the Group at every level, in every country. The strength of the Group lies firmly in the dynamism of our industry: optics, At times we may be accused of electronics, domestic appliances. arrogance. That, perhaps, is the price We benefit from the classic virtuous of sharing one overriding corporate 1999 circle; technological advances regularly objective: to be number one in every The acquisition of the Nordic market leader, creating consumer-orientated products one of our markets, never outvalued, Elkjøp, marked the which, combined with price deflation, and never outmanoeuvred. I believe start of a wave of open our markets to an ever-widening all these values to be my legacy. European expansion. range of consumers. Stanley Kalms

6 Dixons Group plc Annual Report & Accounts 2001/02 1948 1950 A keen 16 year old Early advertising Dixon Studios Stanley Kalms, newly targeted the families received its largest entrusted with the of servicemen who order for 1,000 copies management of his wanted a memento of a photograph of father’s photographic of the loved ones St Catherine Laboure, studio, persuades they’d left at home who created him that the way while they were in Catholicism’s most to profit from the the forces. popular icon, the new enthusiasm for “Miraculous Medal”. photography is to sell cameras and accessories.

1954 1959 Despite “tight 185 Station Road, Dixons’ pioneering management” costs Edgware, the first marketing included the have risen. In 1954 store and the nerve creation of “Stanley the advertising budget centre of the business. Dixon”. His expert was just £5,152, our advice inspired novice salary bill just £7,243. customers to make the In 2001/02 the salary most of their cameras, bill was £490 million. exposure meters and to use new techniques such as “Electronic Flash Photography”.

1962 1967 With 16 branches and The acquisition of sales of £1.4 million, Bennett Cameras in Dixons was listed on 1964 and the success the Stock Exchange. of own brands like Acquisitions in the Prinz & Pyramid, gave same year added Dixons’ 90 stores 42 stores including a commanding London’s Oxford Street lead in the UK’s branch, claimed as photographic market. “Europe’s largest photographic centre”.

1974 1982 Dixons opened Saisho made its debut. its 163,000 sq ft Hailed as one of the distribution centre UK’s most successful in Stevenage, at the own brand launches it time the largest reflected an upmarket computerised high tech image for warehouse in Europe. hi-fi, TV and video. Today its 21 acre site provides 380,000 sq ft of warehouse space.

1987 1988 The annual report John Clare was looked 20 years ahead appointed Managing to the gadgets that Director of the newly could furnish the home formed Dixons Stores of 2007. Needless Group, creating a to say most of the common infrastructure gadgets illustrated to support the Dixons were available in and Currys brands. Dixons stores!

1990 1994 1998 A winning team for With the roll out of Launched in more than 30 years, PC World and The Link, September 1998 the then Group the Group launched Freeserve, the UK’s Managing Director, a new phase of first nationwide Mark Souhami and expansion into content-rich internet Sir Stanley reveal the two rapidly growing service achieved one latest technology at specialist markets. million customers the 1990 annual in its first six months. general meeting. Freeserve joined the FTSE 100 in March 2000.

2000 2002 Spain and France were From one store 2002... the target markets for to Europe’s market the launch of PC City, leading specialist a new generation electricals retailer with of the successful stores in 11 countries PC World format. serving tens of millions every year. The man who drove its creation hands on a record beating business.

7 Dixons Group plc Annual Report & Accounts 2001/02