Vodafone has decided to withdraw from Phones4U, leaving the UK phone retailer worryingly short of operator support.
The operator has revealed that it will not be renewing its partnership with Phones4U when it expires in February.
In a double blow to the company, Vodafone has announced that it will be strengthening its partnership with Phones4U’s main rival, Dixons Carphone.
“Dixons Carphone can confirm it has recently signed a new long term agreement with Vodafone, which includes an enhanced distribution partnership,” the retailed announced.
This double move forms part of a review of Vodafone’s distribution strategies that the mobile network operator decided to undertake earlier in the year. The company also decided to increase its number of shops around the UK by 150.
Vodafone’s announcement leaves Phones4U with just two operators on its books – EE and Virgin. Back in January, O2 withdrew its support from the retailer amidst claims that it only represented 8 percent of its sales in 2013, while Three pulled out back in 2012.
Phones4U claims that it sold 430,000 Vodafone contracts and 125,000 prepay SIMs in the 12 months leading up to February 2014. That’s around £212 million in sales that Vodafone appears to be walking away from.
For its part, Phones4U has claimed that it is in talks with other networks and mobile virtual network operators, presumably in a bid to bolster its offering following this news.
Read more: Best mobile phones 2014
Via: Mobile News
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
