AOL confirms Dixons love-in

Retail giant gets into bed with drinks coaster manufacturer...

No sooner had Dixons seen the back of Freeserve than it was announcing a new deal with AOL which will see the US ISP giant become the internet service provider of choice for the retail giant. The two announcements, which came just hours apart, end a period of speculation which saw AOL lined up as the obvious successor to Freeserve for Dixons in-store promotion. AOL CDs will now be available in all 1,100 Dixons Group stores, which include Currys, Dixons, PC World and The Link. AOL will also come pre-installed on Dixons Group's own brand PCs. AOL is clearly untroubled by Freeserve's reasons for ending the relationship, which prohibited it from striking deals with other retailers. Karen Thomson, CEO of AOL UK, believes Freeserve's loss will be AOL's gain. Thomson said in a statement: "We have already established an excellent working relationship with the Dixons team and believe that this agreement represents great value for AOL in terms of subscriber growth and brand awareness." John Clare, CEO of Dixons, said in a statement: "We’re pleased to announce this new partnership with AOL which we believe will enable us to offer our customers an unbeatable internet access offer."