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So, on my travels this December, I’ve been checking out retail estate in the UK, specifically pertaining to the mobile carriers (see here and here). I got a bit of time to check out a couple of independents in the mobile phone retail space though – namely Carphone Warehouse, and Phones4U. For those of you that don’t live in the UK, these are two of the major chains, and as such are responsible for selling a good proportion of the devices/contracts that are purchased outside of the carrier channels.
Carphone Warehouse
CW adopted a different strategy to some of the other retailers I visited recently, as they have gone back to the strategy of bundling in other things you might want which are not mobile-related, along with your contract. Case in point: Sony PS3 and Nintendo DS Lite are available free with certain combos of device and contract. Interestingly, this strategy (which was all the rage a couple of years ago) is one they are pursuing on TV advertisements also – along with a kind of deconstructed Apple-esque touchscreen style (you’d have to see it, for it to make sense – my description isn’t that great!).
Phones4U
Phones4U were more predictable – they were pushing a couple of deals when I passed by, and they fell in to the same category as many of the carrier shops – half-decent handset plus lower monthly line rental – but I suspect, a long contract period. At any rate, nothing mind-blowing, and not hugely surprising for an independent to steer clear of handsets that are exclusive to networks, or have a whacking great price tag attached.
In summary then, it should be interesting to see which mobile carrier/independent retailers win the Xmas battle to get the most connections – I’m not sure we’ll get that data as a comparator between them, but in January the stats will start rolling in from each carrier about the good business they did. Any thoughts on who will be triumphant?
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
