The Link (retailer)
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Parent Dixons Retail | | |
Website | Official consumer site at the Wayback Machine (archived 2007-09-08) |
---|
The Link was an internet based
The brand was previously used for a chain of mobile phone retail stores, which (from 1997) were 60% owned by DSGi, and 40% owned by
In June 2006, the retail store network was taken over by O2; The Link's website, which remains owned by DSG, continued to trade independently of the stores. In September 2010, The Link website went offline, and ceased taking new orders, directing customers to visit the site of sister firm Currys;[1]
History
DSG International opened the first branch of The Link in October 1994, due to the demand for mobile phones and other communications products. DSG International also sells mobile phones in its Currys Digital (formerly Dixons) and Currys chains, but opened a separate chain to provide more capacity for the growth in mobile phone sales. In 2004, the managing director Nick Wood left The Link to become managing director of Dixons. He was replaced by Dixons Group marketing services director Elizabeth Fagan.[2]
By August 2005, there were 295 branches of The Link, spread across the United Kingdom. The Link's annual sales from 2004 to 2005 were
The Link also replaced their long running advertising campaign (featuring a specially rerecorded version of "Speak Easy" by Shed Seven) with new comedy sketches, featuring the Ken and Kenneth characters from The Fast Show, filmed inside the Waltham Cross store of The Link. A new logo was created, and the in store look was dramatically overhauled. "Music" was seen as the main focus of The Link from that point, according to Nick Wood, and he hoped that would turn the fortunes around.
On 21 June 2006, DSGi sold their 60% share of The Link to O2 for £30 million. The deal included all of The Link's stores.[4] O2's purchase of The Link meant that some stores were rebranded as O2, whilst non retained sites were sold to others.
Shortly after DSGi selling its share of the company, Fagan left the company in September 2006 to become managing director of Boots Opticians and Nick Wood returned. Wood quickly made his mark,[citation needed] applying an easier to understand commission structure, placing "live" models of phones in stores, and expanded the product range to include MP3 players and Satellite navigation systems.
Overall, of the 295 Link stores, around half were rebranded as O2, with the majority of the remainder being sold to competing telecoms retailers such as
A small percentage of sites were closed or sold to non mobile phone related companies, such as
Online only trading
By 31 January 2007, The Link brand was no longer on the high street and became an internet brand. TheLink.com[5] and TheLink.co.uk[6] were retained by DSGi following the sale of the physical business to O2.
The websites continued selling pay monthly and pay as you go mobile phones on Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile and Three, as well as mobile
In September 2010, The Link website went offline, and was replaced with a link to the Currys webpage.[1]
Competition
The Link's main competitors were
The Link also had competition from the networks' own shops, namely
References
- ^ a b "TheLink closure message". TheLink. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010.
- ^ "Dixons Group's Elizabeth Fagan to be The Link md". Marketing Week. 5 February 2004. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Dixons boss would be happy to sever The Link". The Guardian. 8 September 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5101016.stm
- ^ "403 Forbidden". Archived from the original on 2000-05-11.
- ^ "The Link, UK Free Internet Service". Archived from the original on 2000-02-29.
- ^ Mobile Today, November 2001 Issue.
External links
- Official consumer site at the Wayback Machine (archived 2007-09-08)