PC World-owner DSG International is mounting a concerted assault on the €750 million business-to-business market for IT equipment with a new online service.
The rapid growth in the Irish market of the London-listed electronics giant suggests the group could quickly gain annual sales of €100 million even though it will not maintain a warehouse in Ireland, industry insiders say.
DSG owns the Dixons and Currys retail brands, in addition to PC World. The group reported annual sales at its Irish stores of €151.1 million in the year to April, up from €116.5 million in the previous period.
In a business-to-business market dominated at present by Dell, DSG plans to spend €250,000 by next April in a radio and newspaper advertising campaign for its pcwb.ie website.
The "PC World Business" online service is well-established in Britain. Its warehouse in Bury employs 700. The group's strategy is to exercise its considerable buying power to offer better terms to commercial customers.
The Irish service will be targeted primarily at companies with up to 30 staff, which have significant requirements for IT and other electronic equipment but which are not big enough to employ a dedicated IT manager.
The head of DSG's Irish unit, Declan Ronayne, said the service is open to any business with a VAT number. With some 50,000 products on offer from suppliers such as HP, 3Com, Sony, Epson, Adobe, Apple, Microsoft and Toshiba, the group promises a 48-hour delivery time.
DSG will employ four staff for service at its PC World retail outlet in Airside, north Dublin. Mr Ronayne said it planned to employ more at other outlets.
Irish customers would be charged the same price as those in Britain, DSG said.
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