News 2001
Virgin Mobile comes to The Carphone Warehouse
30/10/2001
Virgin Mobile, the UK's fifth network, and The Carphone Warehouse, Europe's largest mobile phone retailer, today announced a partnership that will see Virgin Mobile on sale in The Carphone Warehouse's 450 UK stores from 1st November 2001.
The move means Carphone Warehouse will be the only mobile retailer in the country to offer all the phones and all the networks. The tie-up is the most significant of Virgin Mobile's expansion into specialist retailers to date, and offers Virgin Mobile the opportunity to attract higher-value mobile phone customers who traditionally shop at The Carphone Warehouse.
Virgin Mobile's Richard Branson said: "Carphone Warehouse is without doubt the most successful mobile phone retailer in the UK. It has a tremendous record for great service, and shares the same entrepreneurial spirit of Virgin. We are thrilled to be working with The Carphone Warehouse, and we are confident that together we can attract many more customers onto Virgin Mobile's great service."
Comments Charles Dunstone, Chairman & Chief Executive, The Carphone Warehouse:
" We're delighted to have Virgin Mobile on board. This partnership offers our customers yet another mobile option this Christmas. The Carphone Warehouse is now uniquely placed in the market, as the only mobile phone retailer offering the choice and flexibility of six different networks; Virgin Mobile now joins Vodafone, BTCellnet, Orange, One2One, and Fresh."
For further information:
Virgin Mobile
Steven Day, Virgin Mobile, 07931 777777
Alison Bonny, Virgin Mobile, 07802 430 276
Debra Burtt, Consolidated Communications, 07941 200 300
Email: pressoffice@virginmobile.com
The Carphone Warehouse
Vanessa Tipple: 0208 753 8179
Tristia Clarke: 07771 868 601
Email: pressoffice@cpw.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
Carphone Warehouse customers will be able to connect to Virgin Mobile's 'flextariff' by simply buying a Virgin Mobile service pack for £10 (containing a SIM card and £5 worth of airtime) and activating their current handset OR they could buy a new phone alongside the service pack.
Customers can connect to Virgin Mobile and pay for their calls any way they like. They can pay monthly by direct debit (there's no contract to sign, no monthly fee, and no line rental); or they can pay in a conventional pre-pay way by airtime vouchers or by credit or debit card.
The Carphone Warehouse has arranged to supply its own handsets to connect to the Virgin tariff. These phones are as follows:
- Trium Mars - £59.99 (add £10 for SIM pack)
- Nokia 3310 - £99.99 (add £10 for SIM pack)
- Sony J5 - £99.99 (add £10 for SIM pack)
- Ericsson T29 - £129.99 (add £10 for SIM pack)
- Nokia 3330 - £129.99 (add £10 for SIM pack)
- Nokia 8210 - £199.99 (add £10 for SIM pack)
The deal will be supported by a significant advertising campaign, as well as in-store point of sale and Virgin Mobile's inclusion in The Carphone Warehouse's Monthly Buyers guide
All Carphone Warehouse Sales Consultants will receive extensive training about Virgin Mobile, and this will be included in the company incentive and reward schemes
Customers connecting to Virgin Mobile at The Carphone Warehouse will be eligible for all of the store's after sales services and guarantees
In addition to the 450 Carphone Warehouse stores across the UK, customers will be able to connect to Virgin Mobile by calling Carphone Warehouse's Direct Sales line on 0800 424 800 and from carphonewarehouse.com
About Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile is now established as the most successful virtual network operator in the world, and is the UK's fifth network. Since its launch in November 1999 it has attracted 1.2 million customers, making it one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies in history.
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.
It has scored a number of firsts, including being the first operator to scrap peak rate calls, introduce a daily discounting tariff and was the first company in the world to introduce an integrated MP3 mobile phone.
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 5,000 outlets including Virgin Megastore, Our Price, V.SHOP, Sainsbury, Tesco, WH Smith, Iceland, Co-op, Asda, Somerfield, John Lewis, Littlewoods, Morrisons, Phone People and Carphone Warehouse.
About The Carphone Warehouse:
The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC was founded in 1989 and has experienced rapid growth in the 1990s under the leadership of Charles Dunstone and David Ross. The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC is today the only pan-European retailer of mobile telephony products and services. It is the leading independent mobile phone retailer in the UK, France, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands and Ireland, in each case in terms of market share. The Group has over 1,000 stores in 12 European markets and employs over 5,500 people.
The company's commitment to customer satisfaction and its determination to stay one step ahead of the rest has undoubtedly been the key factor of its success. In March of this year, the company won both the Retail Week and the Mobile News customer service awards for 2001. In July 2000 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange and based on an issue price of 200p, the company was valued at approximately £1.7 billion. In the financial year ended 31st March 2001, Carphone Warehouse generated total turnover of £1.1 billion.
