September 10, 2007 at 9:29 pm · Authored by Ewan · Filed under Feature, Mobile

OXFORD STREET, LONDON

September 3 | 1853 hours | GMT

I’m walking past Currys Digital on Oxford Street. It used to be a ‘Dixons’ brand — a popular if slighty expensive electronics chain here in the United Kingdom.

It generally does a roaring trade due to a nice location on one of the busiest shopping streets in the city.

Currys, (FTSE stock ticker DSGI) is, according to today’s Google Finance page, capitalised in the market at 2.7 billion. They have 38,596 employees and in 2006/2007 they reported 7.9 billion pounds worth of sales, making a cool 300 million profit, before tax. Hold this info in your head, right?

As I walked past the store I spotted a large bit of wood with a red fabric cover over it propped against the door window.

A scuffed bit of paper atop the board read ‘Mobile Phone Contract’ in the cheapest possible bold Times New Roman font.

What’s this, I thought? Surely it can’t be marketing collateral?

I looked closer.

Butter me in jelly and call me Sarah! It is! Someone THAT morning actually placed that board outside to try and attract customers.

Oh my god.

The contract offer has EVEN got some localised graffiti on it.

I am willing to bet that advertising hoard wasn’t conceived by a funky marketing agency in Soho.

Instead, it’s the brainchild of an extremely bored, extremely under motivated management team at Currys Oxford Street. I think it’s ridiculous. Patently ridiculous.

Goodness knows what’s going on at DSGI if the store management are having to resort to stapling their own marketing collateral together.

If you were thinking of buying anything from Currys .. STOP.

STOP. MOVE AWAY FROM THE SALESMAN.

IT’S NOT WORTH IT.

YOU DESERVE MORE. Head for a nicer looking, well kept, friendly shop chain who actually care a little bit about your business.