The owner of Currys and PC World said sharper prices and promotions such as John Lewis-style free extended guarantees were helping it to win sales from high street and internet rivals.
Seb James, chief executive of the newly merged retail giant Dixons Carphone, which will join the FTSE 100 later this month, said its UK electricals business had made a strong start to the year with like-for-like sales up 4% in the three months to 31 July. Consumer confidence was a bit "wobbly", James said, but "generally speaking we think the trend is towards recovery."
Sales at its UK stores were boosted by the World Cup as the tournament prompted football fans to upgrade their TV set. The retailer reported demand for high-end curved and ultra HD TVs and it offered the sweetener of a free five-year guarantee on some models. The move, which copies John Lewis's successful trading strategy, was "the next step in a journey [looking at] where do some competitors have an advantage and how do we destroy that advantage?" said James, who added it now matched its major internet rivals' prices.
The picture was less rosy at Carphone Warehouse where like-for-like sales were down 6% in the four months to 2 August but James blamed the strength of the previous year's trade when like-for-like sales were up 13% on the back of handset promotions.
The £3.7bn merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse was finalised last month with the update covering a period when the businesses were still operating separately - hence the slightly different trading periods. James said the integration process was going well with seven departments now merged and the 11 Carphone Warehouse branded mobile departments it has installed in Currys and PC World stores already delivering better than expected results.
James was relaxed about the implications for its Scottish chain in the event of a vote in favour in independence. "We are already an international business," he said suggesting the business would operate in a "loosely federated way" in Scotland – as it did in Ireland – if necessary.