Electrical goods retailer Dixon's plans to open new stores in Cork and Drogheda in November in a new round of expansion that will see it concentrate on the market outside Dublin.
Such developments will bring the number of its stores in Ireland to eight, although its general manager Declan Ronayne said there were longer-term opportunities for up to 15 Dixons stores in Ireland.
In addition to Dixons, the DSG Ireland group controls the PC World computer store chain and the out-of-town electrical goods chain Currys.
With sales net of taxes growing to to €117.07 million from €105.36 million in the year to April, the group's operating profits grew to €3.66 million from €2.05 million.
Dixons aims to take advantage of the Christmas rush by opening its new stores in November.
The Cork outlet will be at the Ballincollig Town Centre and the outlet in Drogheda, Co Louth, will be at the new Scotch Hall centre.
The €2 million investment in these stores comes in addition to a €7.5 million investment this year in five new stores in its sister chain, PC World.
With PC World outlets to open later this year in Sligo and Naas, Co Kildare, the latest opening was this week in Carrickmines, Dublin.
This follows openings in Galway and Airside, north Dublin.
While the PC World expansion this year doubles the number of its stores to ten, Mr Ronayne said yesterday that he saw scope to open two more outlets next year.
"I'd love to get a presence in Cork, so Cork is very much a target," he said.
However, the concentration in the next phase of growth will be on the Dixons brand. It has five stores in Dublin, but its only outlet outside the city is in Limerick.
"I'd like to have a presence in every major urban centre if we can find a good enough shopping centre. There are opportunities for 12-15 Dixons stores in Ireland. At the end of the day we need scale and we're setting about getting that scale," Mr Ronayne said.
With four Currys stores in the Irish unit, he said DSG Ireland would assess expansion opportunities as they arose but would concentrate on the Dixons brand.
The Irish electrical goods market is buoyant at present, with retailers receiving a boost from the arrival of new products such as MP3 players and big American-style fridges.
