Currys sales slide amid shortages of key tech goods

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Currys has trimmed its annual profit forecast after a shortage of goods ranging from PlayStation 5 consoles and Apple products to hairdryers and TVs resulted in a 5% fall in sales over the peak Christmas period.

Demand for some products, including TVs and smart home products such as voice-controlled speakers, was also down as household budgets are increasingly squeezed.

Currys, which has lowered its full-year profit guidance from £160m to £155m, said the overall UK market for sales of technology products was down 10% at Christmas.

Baldock said Currys had gained market shares as it had been able to get better supplies than rivals of popular items such as gaming consoles, Dyson hairdryers, Apple computers and iPhones. He said sales of gaming kit for the chain rose 16% despite shortages of key products.

Despite those problems, Baldock said he expected the technology market to remain bigger than before the pandemic because of the shift to working from home and towards gaming as a form of entertainment.

Shares in Currys were down more than 6% on Friday afternoon.