New owner, Kogan, promises better customer service and more affordable pricing on digital and home appliance goods
New Dick Smith brand owner, Kogan, has relaunched the retailer online in Australia and New Zealand a month ahead of schedule.
Kogan acquired the digital-only assets of the Dick Smith business in March after the organisation went into voluntary administration and was due to go live in June. According to the company, its team has managed to build a fully responsive online platform for Dick Smith in under two months which allows customers to shop online via any connected devices.
The new-look online Dick Smith business will leverage Kogan’s existing operations and logistics infrastructure. The company is selling more than 5500 products including smartphones, cameras, tablets and home appliances, and is supported by a customer service team, 14-day money back guarantee on select brands, and product warranties back by Kogan.
“We are extremely proud of the speed with which we were able to relaunch the Dick Smith online business, with a leading website, product range and back-end systems to power the operation,”said Kogan’s executive director, David Shafer. He added that Kogan’s digital prowess would also ensure products are more affordable to consumers buying from Dick Smith.
“All orders from today onwards come with the full backing of the Kogan.com business and are supported by our first-class Australian customer service team.
“Dick Smith’s recent history has been disappointing for many Australians, but for millions of us, it is an iconic brand we all know and love. We will work hard to restore the faith Australian have put in the Dick Smith brand for almost 50 years”.
Dick Smith, one of Australia’s most iconic brands, was placed into receivership on 4 January after voluntary administrators were appointed to the group. Its collapse came after months of speculation about the group’s future and followed what many labelled as a ‘go for broke’ sale and heavy discounting over the Christmas period. A profit warning announcement in November and decision to take a $60 million hit from slashing the value of inventories then saw the organisation’s share price tank by 70 per cent.
In March, receivers confirmed that nearly 400 bricks-and-mortar stores operating under the Dick Smith brand would close by 30 April after they failed to find a buyer for the physical business.
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