News 2001
Virgin Mobile and Tesco offer UK's most popular mobile phone at great value
23/07/2001
Spend £50 on groceries and get £30 Virgin Mobile phones
Virgin Mobile is teaming up with Tesco to offer the UK's most popular mobile phone, the Nokia 3310, at the best value price in the country.
Virgin Mobile launches into 616 branches of Tesco on Monday 23 July, with a promotion on two of its most fashionable phones, the Nokia 3310 (£99.99) and the Siemens M35i (£69.99).
The Nokia 3310 is currently the most popular phone on the market, accounting for around half of all UK mobile phone sales. Virgin Mobile already sells it at the lowest cost (£99.99) compared to other network operators, but Tesco customers will be offered a further £30 off the phone when they spend £50 or more on other products in store. The promotion takes the price of the phone down to only £69.99 - and Virgin Mobile customers have no contracts to sign and can pre-pay or pay monthly for their calls at no extra cost.
The promotion also applies to the Siemens M35i, taking its price down to £39.99 when Tesco customers spend £50 or more on groceries.
The promotion is being supported by extensive in-store media, including checkout posters, as well as national press advertising. The promotion lasts for two weeks, with the phones on display in the stores' entrance.
Graeme Hutchinson, sales director at Virgin Mobile, said: "To be partnered with such a superb brand as Tesco is great news for Virgin Mobile. It extends our distribution to another 12 million shoppers a week in the UK's most successful retailer. We expect the partnership to deliver significant growth over the next 12 months."
"Virgin Mobile offers the most competitive all-round service in Britain: the latest phones with no catches; cheap call costs with no monthly line-rental; and a range of information and entertainment services sent directly to ever customer's phone."
Virgin Mobile phones are also available by calling direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virgin.com/mobile; or on the High Street at over 3,500 outlets including Virgin Megastores, Our Price, V.Shops and other retailers such as Asda, Sainsbury's, WH Smiths and John Lewis.
For further information please contact:
Georgina Annett / Sasha Bradbury / Julia Clarke / Russell Sloan, Consolidated Communications, 020 7287 2087
Steven Day, Virgin Mobile, 07931 777777
Alison Bonny, Virgin Mobile, 07802 430276
Joanne Baker, Virgin Mobile, 07941 233300
About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture company between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Deutsche Telekom's One 2 One, and is the UK's first mobile virtual operator (MVNO). Since its launch in November 1999 it has attracted over one million customers, making it one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies ever.
It has scored a number of firsts, including being the first operator to scrap peak rate calls, introduce a daily discounting tariff, introduce an integrated MP3 mobile phone and is the first operator to introduce a cash back tariff, The Big Bonus.
Virgin Mobile is the only network to offer cheap calls and no line rental with no hidden catches and no contracts to sign. Standard calls cost 15p per minute for the first 5 minutes of use each day, and 5p per minute after that, for up to 23 hours 55 minutes each day. There is no line rental fee and no catches, however you choose to pay - you only pay for the calls you make. Voicemail retrieval is free and SMS messages cost 10p per message in the UK.
You can also Pay As You Want - by topping up with a voucher or a debit or credit card, or you can pay monthly by direct debit. Either way, you still receive the same great value tariff and no monthly fee.
The Big Bonus scheme entitles customers using £30-worth of calls or more each month to 10% of whatever they spend as an airtime credit the following month (includes calls made within and from the UK). The Big Bonus is available to everyone paying by direct debit, or to pre-pay customers topping up with either a credit or debit card.
VirginXtras is Virgin Mobile's groundbreaking range of value-added and money-saving services. The VirginXtras service helps customers get the information they want, in the most accessible and easy-to-understand way, whether it be via IVR, SMS, voice or WAP, and can be tailor-made to suit each individual. VirginXtras is available to every Virgin Mobile customer and puts service over technology.
Customers logging on to www.virgin.com/mobile simply pre-select areas of interest from seven core categories, including: sport, music, going out, staying in, travel, shopping and fun. So, whether people are after the most recent film releases at their local cinema, discounts on a whole range of items from CDs to holidays, football scores for their favourite team or a recommendation for a night out, VirginXtras offers the easiest way to get the best and latest personalised information sent right to your phone.
Virgin has already taken the brand overseas with Virgin Mobile (Australia), a partnership with Optus, which opened for business at the end of October 2000. A similar joint-venture between Virgin and Singapore Telecom will see the launch of Virgin Mobile (Asia) later in 2001. The global Virgin Mobile brand is also expected to launch in the USA and Europe within two years. Virgin Mobile has also recently launched in Northern Ireland.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virgin.com/mobile; or on the High Street at over 3,500 outlets including Virgin Megastores, Our Price, V Shops and in supermarkets such as Asda, Kwik Save and Sainsbury.
