| C.E.X. Limited | |
| Trading Name: | CeX |
| Former Name: | Calibre Analysis Limited (MayAugust 1996)[1] |
| Type: | Private |
| Num Locations: | 622 |
| Num Locations Year: | 2023 |
| Foundation: | in Tottenham Court Road, London, United Kingdom |
| Location: | Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom |
| Industry: | Retail |
C.E.X. Limited, trading as CeX, is a British retailer predominately dealing in pre-owned video games, DVDs, Blu-rays and consumer electronics, established in 1992 in London as the Computer Exchange. The retailer later renamed itself as the Complete Entertainment Exchange.[2]
As of January 2024, there are 390 stores in the UK, and a further 230 internationally, with a number of its locations being franchises.[3] [4]
CeX was started by Paul Farrington,[5] Robert Dudani,[6] Hugh Man,[7] Charlie Brooker,[8] [9] Oli Smith and Oliver Ball. The first shop opened on London's Whitfield Street, close to Tottenham Court Road in 1992.[10] As a second hand retailer, CeX trades with customers offering either cash or a voucher for redemption in any CeX shop.[11] CeX offer a 24-month warranty subject to terms on all of the second hand products the company sells.[12]
The "CeX" name moved away from "Computer eXchange" into an acronym for "Complete Entertainment eXchange", and company letterheads state "CeX LTD is trading as CeX Entertainment Exchange". In 2005, CeX began issuing licences for franchising.[13]
Dudani appeared on the British Channel 4 TV show The Secret Millionaire.[14] [15] [16] This was after the business was affected by the 2011 England riots.[17]
In December 2013, CeX began Designer Exchange buying luxury leather goods, jewellery and handbags, with stores in Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Madrid.[18]
The pronunciation of the chain's acronym name was confirmed as "sex" in British commercials aired in February 2017.[19]
In November 2017, CeX launched a technology repair service called Tech Centre[20] (formerly called CeX Clinic) in the UK. The service covers the repair of video game consoles. Tech Center offers a 2 year warranty on device repairs and a no fix, no fee promise to customers.
| Country | Shops | |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[21] | 390 | |
| Spain (mainland) | 65 | |
| 40 | ||
| 31 | ||
| 31 | ||
| 30 | ||
| 17 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| Canary Islands (Spain) | 8 | |
| 1 | ||
| 1 |