By James Rougvie

EMPLOYEES AT four Dixons stores in Perth, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes have been stunned by the news that their electrical goods shops are to close in an exercise to prune poorly-performing outlets from the company’s 320 stores nationwide.

A total of 106 under under-achieveing stores are to close throughout the UK, but a spokesman for the Dixons group—which also owns Currys, PC World and The Link —said they hoped employees could relocate to branches of Currys and that no jobs would be lost.

It is only the Dixons stores which will be affected, the spokesman said, and since most Dixons stores are within five miles of a Currys outlet, dislocation of staff is hoped will be kept to a minimum.

The Perth store employs 11 staff. There are 11 in Dunfermline, seven in Kirkcaldy and 11 in Glenrothes, and there will be the statutory 90-day consultation period which began yesterday.

It is understood that sales at Dixons-branded stores did not fare well over Christmas and the closures will take place over the next three months.

The spokesman said the Dundee branch of Dixons would be unaffected, and it was emphasised that the other brands in the group would also be untouched.

Sir Bill Connor, branch secretary of the shop workers’ union, Usdaw, said there would be considerable confusion among workers at Dixons, with the company announcing store closures and job losses on the back of reporting growth in sales.

In Perth, closure marks the end of an era for the St John’s shopping centre. Dixons is one of the original surviving retail outlets from 1987.