Dixons accused by rival retailers

Dixons has been accused of hampering competition in the UK personal computer market, by signing exclusive selling deals with two major PC manufacturers.

Rival vendors John Lewis, Comet and Tempo have, according to several reports, called for a government enquiry into the deals between manufacturers Compaq and Packard Bell and the Dixons Group, which includes PC World and Currys.

John Lewis is believed to have already lost its supply of Compaq PCs, as a result of the deals, and Packard Bell has said its supply would end after 30 June.

The rival retailers fear that without an investigation and action by the government, Dixons will force competitors out of the market and therefore raise PC prices even further.

Dixons defended the charge in a statement saying 'By working with an exclusive distributor it is possible for suppliers to minimise overheads in the UK by using our infrastructure to compete with low prices.'

(Story taken from vnunet. For more detail go to www.vnunet.com.)