twitter's Journal: Vista still killing DSG - Price Cuts Don't Save Retail Giant

Christams brought no relief to retail giant DSG.

Shares in DSG International, Europe's biggest electrical retailer, slumped more than 27pc yesterday following a significantly disappointing Christmas trading period for the group. The company, which owns Dixons, PC World and Currys stores in Britain and Ireland, said that weaker demand for computers over the festive season will see the firm's full-year pre-tax profit miss analysts' estimates by between £40m and £50m (53.6m and 67m). The Christmas period usually accounts for more than half of DSG's annual profits.

Sales in DSG stores open more than a year, fell 1pc in the 11 weeks to the end of December, with operations in Britain, Spain and Italy being hardest hit. The group's PC World chain has been slashing the price of laptops for weeks, hoping to attract buyers.

Last November, DSG said that interim profits had slumped 25pc due to an overstocking of laptops loaded with Microsoft's poorly received Vista operating system. At the time, DSG said that the backlog of laptops had been cleared.

The CEO was replaced after claiming Vista killed retail PC sales and cost the company about $40 million. The new CEO does not seem to have done any better yet. He announced that 200 of 700 UK stores would be closed and that gave greed mongers hope but poor Christmas sales cost all of that and more.