Currys hailed an ‘encouraging’ performance over the past year (Currys/PA)
(Picture: PA Media)The new chancellor should make cutting business rates for retailers a top priority, said the boss of Currys today.
Alex Baldock said the high street was been overpaying for too long. “Retail can’t keep paying 10% of business taxation when we are 5% of the economy,” he said.
Baldock, a Tory supporter and donor, said his message to Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was: “What we need from the government at the moment is some consistency. Consumers need help through the cost of living crisis.”
Profits at the electricals group quadrupled to £126 million for the year to April, a reflection that most stores were closed in the previous year. Sales were steady at £10.1 billion.
Currys said it will “cushion” the blow to consumers from inflation by freezing prices where it can, but said it needs help from government. A VAT cut might also help.
Baldock, a former banker who took over at Currys in 2018, says customers are relying more and more on credit to buy goods, but said he would be sure to be “responsible”, in partnership with “very sober” lenders.
He added: “We owe this performance to our thousands of capable and committed colleagues, who’ve built a stronger Currys. They’ve loved seeing customers returning to our stores in droves, and helping them with face-to-face expert advice and the full range of our services that ensure customers stick with us. Stores, in tandem with online, give our customers the omnichannel best of both worlds they clearly prefer.”
Currys shares rose 4p to 70p, but they have nearly halved in the last year.
