Listing on the cards for Dick Smith

Private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners is exploring a potential sharemarket listing for retailer Dick Smith Electronics and has appointed Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Group to advise it on a listing and other strategic options.

Dick Smith was offloaded by Woolworths last September to Anchorage in a $20 million fire sale. The retailer is expected to be flipped into an initial public offering as early as next year.

The Dick Smith chain recorded sales of $1.57 billion and earnings before interest, tax and one-off charges of $24.6 million, in financial year 2012.

Macquarie and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Speaking on the company's business strategy for the first time since its takeover last year, chief executive Nick Abboud said the brand was in a "powerful position" given it had no core debt.

"Anchorage are very confident with the strategy that management have put into the business. It allows us to look at many options - and one of those would be an IPO," he said. "The timing of that - obviously we need to perform for a period of time. Once we get some runs on the board then we will allow a wider market to get involved."