Dick Smith is aiming to snare more than 10 percent of the AUD1.7 billion small appliances market ahead of a wave of new products that consumers will control through their mobile phones and computers.
The retailer, better known for electronics than vacuum cleaners and kettles, has taken a leaf out of the book of rival electronics chain JB Hi-Fi and plans to establish small appliance shop-in-shops under the ConnectedHome brand in about 100 Dick Smith stores over the next five months.
The strategy promises to boost sales and margins by attracting customers who do not currently shop with Dick Smith and countering pervasive price deflation in consumer electronics as the so-called "Internet of Things" spawns a range of premium appliances and devices controlled by the internet.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald Online )