Matt Martin 09:17 (BST)
11/04/2008

DSG International - the group that includes hardware specialist PC World, Currys.digital and dixons.co.uk - has reported that overall retail performance for the 25 week period to April 5 has been challenging despite reasonable demand for games consoles.

Chief executive John Browett is currently leading a review of the business, as like-for-like sales at PC World are down 1 per cent and profits for the full year are expected to be between GBP 200 million and GBP 210 million.

"The trading environment since we last reported has remained challenging across our markets, particularly in the UK, Italy and Spain," he said. "Whilst like-for-like sales patterns are broadly in line with those we reported over the Christmas period, it is clear that customers have become increasingly promotion and deal driven, impacting gross margins."

"Overall sales in UK Computing remain disappointing, despite reasonable demand for laptops and games consoles," added Browett.

Outside of specific promotions on hardware, the retail group said that demand for products has been lower than expected and sales of non-hardware products were lower than last year.

The Nordic regions, Greece and Central Europe all delivered satisfactory performances, according to the company.