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Dixons Carphone to axe 800 jobs in management overhaul

Changes to management structures will result in a reduction of 800 roles. Photo: Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Changes to management structures will result in a reduction of 800 roles. Photo: Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Dixons Carphone (DC.L) is to cut 800 jobs as part of an overhaul of its store management structure.

It comes months after the technology retailer announced plans to shut all 531 of its standalone Carphone Warehouse mobile phone stores in the UK, with the loss of 2,900 jobs.

At the time the retailer said around 1,800 staff were expected to be kept on, with the company focusing on its ‘shops-in-shops’ and its online business.

The Currys PC World owner is now looking to streamline store management structures as it adapts to increasing online sales, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dixons Carphone said it will remove retail manager, assistant manager and team leader roles, introducing new sales manager, customer experience manager and operational excellence manager positions in stores as part of its

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These 3D Technologies Are Changing the Way Shoes Are Made

3D technology is not the future for footwear design — it’s already here, changing the way brands design and market their product. When it comes to footwear production, 3D technology has been introduced at multiple stages. Significant attention has been given to 3D printing for its tangible results, but 3D software, whether utilized for product ideation or marketing visualization, is emerging as an influential solution at both ends of the footwear journey.

“If you look at the major footwear manufacturers, there’s been conceptual modeling in some way for quite some time,” said Scott Green, director of product management in the software business unit at 3D Systems. “They have artists who do 2D paper drawings and designs, but then at some point, someone has got to make a looks-like, feels-like model.”

As software design has improved, this 3D modeling has been brought forward in the production process so that designers frequently

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How a mysterious company tied to ‘Titanic’ villain landed government coronavirus contracts

Billy Zane, the Hollywood actor best known as Rose’s villainous fiance in “Titanic,” was the celebrity pitchman for a venture capital firm that specializes in flashy global networking events.

It’s the same company that taxpayers paid $2.4 million for ventilators and protective garb this year as the firm set its sights on the global coronavirus pandemic. And the U.S. government appears to have grossly overpaid for it.

But trying to track down information about the company and its product exposes the tangled web the government has created for itself by relying on a growing number of middlemen, brokers and newcomers to secure emergency supplies.

Parkpine Inc. is a Delaware company registered to a single-family home in Los Angeles, with a mailing address at an apartment in Chinatown, and tied to a business with “offices” in Silicon Valley and Hollywood that really are just UPS Store mailboxes.

Founder and managing partner

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Republicans haven’t tried to make voting safer or easier. What does that tell you?

An election observer cleans voting booths during the Democratic presidential primary election in Kenosha, Wis., on April 7. <span class="copyright">(AFP / Getty Images)</span>
An election observer cleans voting booths during the Democratic presidential primary election in Kenosha, Wis., on April 7. (AFP / Getty Images)

To the editor: As the L.A. Times reports, months ago the House approved $3.6 billion in aid to help states deal with the expected flood of mail-in ballots. That aid has stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. (“Trump can’t postpone the election, but officials worry he and the GOP could starve it,” July 31)

Associate dean at Loyola Law School Justin Levitt states that considering the trillions Congress is spending to shore up the economy, it is “bewildering” that the Senate is balking at approving the money needed to keep our elections functional.

Bewildering? Not when you acknowledge that the president and the Republican Party are doing everything they can to suppress mail-in ballots, fail to fund the U.S. Postal Service and generally make the most cherished right we

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News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: A program to aid families with students who are limited to distance learning this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic will provide $100 million for increased internet service, according to the state. Vouchers, which will help pay for the cost of equipment and high-speed internet service through Dec. 31, will be available for students who receive free or reduced-price meals or meet other income criteria, Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said in a statement. Eligible families will receive a letter in August. With high-speed internet service often unavailable across rural Alabama and in some urban areas, the funding will go toward technology including wireless hot spots and home and mobile internet service, the announcement said. While some students were able to attend classes online after schools closed in the spring, many were unable to participate in similar programs because of the lack of reliable high-speed internet.

Alaska

Anchorage: Health

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How pandemic pods and zutors are changing home-schooling

When the number of coronavirus cases began to rise in the San Francisco area in early July, mother of one Lian Chikako Chang started a Facebook group to support local families and teachers who were suddenly facing the prospect of schools not opening in person as planned in mid-August.

The “Pandemic Pods” group, which aims to help with childcare and schooling needs, grew to more than 30,000 members within three weeks, as areas across the US were hit by Covid-19 spikes and more schools decided to stay shut.

“Families were left scrabbling for solutions,” says Ms Chang. “Most parents have to work, and most jobs are not compatible with home-schooling”.

And it’s not just Facebook parents are turning to. Matchmaking apps and websites have sprung up offering to help parents connect with other families to form “safe” learning pods, or match them with teachers who can give online lessons, dubbed

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Billionaire Milner Nears $400 Million Funding in Byju’s

(Bloomberg) — DST Global, the investment firm headed by billionaire Yuri Milner, is close to investing as much as $400 million in Indian online education startup Byju’s, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.The deal values Byju’s at $10.5 billion and could be signed as early as this weekend, said the person, who didn’t want to be identified as the talks are private. The transaction would make Byju’s India’s second-most valuable startup after Alibaba Group Holding-backed financial payments brand, Paytm.

The Russian-Israeli billionaire, one of the world’s best-known technology investors, is an early backer of the largest internet firms including Alibaba, Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. His DST has also funded a string of high-profile Indian startups such as online retailer Flipkart Online Services Pvt., ride-hailing startup Ola, food-delivery startup Swiggy and business e-commerce startup Udaan.

DST and Byju’s didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comments about the funding

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Dissatisfaction With Online Retailers Runs Deep

Spurred by COVID-19, consumers are buying like crazy online, generating double-digit online sales gains at many retailers and brands through spring and summer.

But that doesn’t mean consumers are loving the digital experience. The more time and money spent online, the more they lose patience with the level of service provided by digital marketers, encounter problems and become less loyal to any one brand.

That’s a key finding from research released today by the Wharton School’s Baker Retailing Center and WisePlum, a customer experience insights platform that helps managers determine where to invest in the customer experience to increase sales.

As Paula Courtney, chief executive officer of WisePlum, said, “Consumers are less forgiving and needing more from retailers during the global pandemic.”

According to Thomas S. Robertson, Joshua J. Harris professor and professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, “We are seeing brands looking for ways to

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Pandemic revs up race for U.S. online car sales

By Nick Carey

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – After years of being part of a future that never quite arrived, the coronavirus pandemic has put U.S. online car sellers on the map.

Now comes a race to spend vast sums on digital commerce platforms specifically designed to handle auto sales. Without deep pockets, many startups and others trying to join the online game will likely be left in the dust.

“The big three (auto) e-commerce players will grow substantially, but it will be hard to be a new entrant,” said Toby Russell, joint chief executive officer of Shift, which will go public to join rival Carvana <CVNA.N> and Vroom <VRM.O> later this quarter.

“The pay to play on this thing is in the hundreds of millions and the early journey is hard, especially building out the technology,” Russell said.

Online sales still only account for around 1% of the roughly

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High-Paying Jobs You Didn’t Know Existed

Everyone knows what a doctor or chiropractor does, but have you ever heard of an ayurveda healer or a hippotherapist? If you’re scratching your head, there’s a reason. They aren’t common, but these jobs are real and can pay quite well.

Last updated: Aug. 15, 2019

Feng Shui Consultant

Estimated pay: $20,000 to $250,000

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice that combines philosophy, science and art. If you have a strong energy and want to help others find balance, consider this career.

Feng shui consultants visit clients’ homes and offices to bring harmony and organization to the spaces by identifying ways to arrange belongings according to feng shui traditions.

Many online certification programs provide a path to this career. Those who charge a higher hourly rate and work with wealthy clients and celebrities have the highest earning potential — in the six figures.

Read: 20 Jobs That Pay

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