24 01732 759725 Currys Business is encouraging channel partners to leverage its broad technology offering to provide customers with complete tech solutions and is transforming its channel strategy to help them do so Currying favour own website and 54 business hubs out in our store estate. “One of the challenges today is we don’t have our full offer in all of those channels. For example, most of the mobile dealings we have come from that team in Poole, but our aspiration is to be able to offer everything online, on the phone or face-to-face, depending on what works best for each dealer.” Kramer adds that as well as developing a more unified channel strategy, supported by a partner portal, dedicated account managers and a single account across all technology sectors, Currys Business is developing additional channel-focused services that will make it easier for partners to take on more of its technology portfolio. These include a new leasing solution due to be launched early next year. “We currently sell everything through traditional post-pay or pre-pay models, but we are going to launch a leasing proposition next year. We also hope to be able to combine our repair and trade-in capabilities to enable a different type of affordability proposition on mobile. In the consumer world many customers are separating connectivity from the device and we want to be able to offer that option for business customers. That will likely come in the early part of next year,” says Kramer. Pillars for growth This leasing initiative dovetails neatly with the first of four pillars, or themes, that “We sell a very broad range of technologies and are constantly looking at how we can add even more value for channel partners,” explains Kramer. “From a computing perspective, we see big demand for upgrading to Windows 11, because Windows 10 support will end next October, and for services such as mobile device management and security. We aim to offer more support to businesses in those areas. Then, there are bill-saving offerings like broadband and utilities, both of which we offer today. We’d like to be a complete provider of solutions to dealers across all those areas.” Channel business Currys Business currently has several channels through which partners can engage with its technology and channel support experts. These include a dedicated service and support centre in Poole for its 200-plus mobile and mobile connectivity partners, a website for online interactions and a network of 54 business hubs within its retail estate. At the moment, these channels are not fully integrated and Kramer says that one of his priorities is to standardise the offering available across all those touchpoints. “The main one is our office in Poole, where our account management teams have established existing partner relationships, predominantly focused on mobile and mobile solutions, which we’re still adding to. We also sell through our Currys is one of Europe’s leading electrical products retailers, but did you know that it also has a 30-year history of working with channel partners? To date, this has mainly been on the communications side of the business – particularly after the 2014 merger between Dixons Retail (owner of the Dixons Carphone, Currys and PC World brands) and Carphone Warehouse. But not exclusively so. Currys Business also gives partners access to business energy solutions through a five-year partnership with Fidelity Energy and has a history of selling tech hardware to resellers and service providers through its channels. Now, under the leadership of Director Dean Kramer, it is aiming to grow and expand its channel business, by better integrating different routes to market and by giving resellers and IT service providers access to 30,000-plus products in its B2B portfolio so that they can offer small and medium-sized businesses complete tech solutions, encompassing mobile connectivity, broadband, IT hardware, accessories and services, including energy. COVER STORY Dean Kramer Currys does millions of repairs each year
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