Dixons To Discontinue Sales Of Analogue Radios
Dixons online is to discontinue the sale of analogue radios following substantial growth in the sale of digital sets.
The announcement comes following discussions between the Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB) and Dixons and other retailers. The DRDB has made clear that it welcomes this decision from one of the UK’s best known names in electrical retail.
Dixons announced in December 2003 that digital radios were outselling analogue tuners for the first time ever, and since then sales have continued to boom.
Dixons was the first major retailer to stop selling VCRs, in 2004, when DVDs first came to prominence. Some may therefore see the discontinuation of analogue radios as a sign that other retailers are about to follow suit.
DRDB chief executive, Ian Dickens says: “This announcement follows Ofcom’s report on the 2005 comms market that highlights the fact that, in the portable radio sector, DAB accounted for 54% of sales in 2005, up from 45% in 2004. With DAB digital radios outselling analogue in certain sectors, it makes sense for retailers to reconsider the range of products they offer. The DRDB welcomes Dixon’s decision and looks forward to other retailers following their lead.”
Nick Wilkinson, group managing director for Dixons, said: “The growth in demand for digital radios is further evidence that we’re living in the digital age. The snap, crackle and pop of the traditional wireless is rapidly being replaced with the crystal-clear sound of digital audio broadcasting.”
He added: “The traditional radio has been a huge part of home life in the UK, through good times and bad, over the last 100 years. Some of the most pivotal events in our history have been communicated to UK homes from analogue radio transmitters to wirelesses in homes around the UK. There is probably no other piece of technology that conjures such a powerful mental image as the old wireless perched on the mantelpiece with the family gathered around it.”
DRDB: 020 7306 2630 www.drdb.org