Jon3G
28th June 2005, 10:00 AM
Vodafone is set to make an aggressive play for the female and elderly market with an ambitious new deal with Boots.
If trials succeed, Vodafone would have its brand splashed in 100 Boots stores in September, with another 100 lined up for January. The chemist and beauty retailer would exclusively sell Vodafones products and services. Vodafone hopes Boots will become a key channel to sell its new Simply phone, which is likely to take centre stage in the prepay line-up alongside small handsets such as the VK 530 and Panasonic X400.
An industry figure said: It would make sense for Vodafone to find a market that has a lot of potential Simply customers. If you look at the profile of Boots customers they fit the Simply model 100%.
Four specially made post-pay tariffs have been put together for Boots customers, who are expected to be lured with considerable reward points on Boots successful Advantage loyalty card. The Advantage card is thought to be one of the worlds most successful loyalty cards, with a base of around 18 million users. Customers who sign up to a £40-a-month Boots tariff stand to accumulate 4,420 points through signing up and monthly line rental.
One industry figure emphasised the huge potential for mobile sales at Boots given the retailers vast estate of 1,400 UK stores in prime locations and massive footfall of high-spending customers. Women are really getting into mobiles but sometimes find specialist mobile retailers too macho, said one senior industry source.
A trial is currently running at four Boots outlets in Nottingham, Bristol, Newcastle and Derby, where the Vodafone brand sits side-by-side with the Boots marque.
Boots had been selling a small selection of prepay handsets in some of its stores after a supply deal had been brokered with Caudwell-owned Dextra Solutions in November last year. That deal had also been extended last week.
What are they offering?
Four exclusive contract tariffs:
£15 a month: 25 minutes (1000 points + 60 monthly points)
£25 a month: 125 minutes (1500 points + 100 monthly points)
£30 a month: 200 minutes (2000 points + 120 monthly points)
£40 a month: 350 minutes (2500 points + 160 monthly points)
Nine prepay handsets at launch:
Vodafone Simply, Sendo SC360, Nokia 2600, Panasonic X400, Sharp GX15, VK530, Nokia 6020, Sharp GX25, Sagem myV55
© Copyright 2005 : Noble House Media Ltd
http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-test/publish/article_469.shtml
If trials succeed, Vodafone would have its brand splashed in 100 Boots stores in September, with another 100 lined up for January. The chemist and beauty retailer would exclusively sell Vodafones products and services. Vodafone hopes Boots will become a key channel to sell its new Simply phone, which is likely to take centre stage in the prepay line-up alongside small handsets such as the VK 530 and Panasonic X400.
An industry figure said: It would make sense for Vodafone to find a market that has a lot of potential Simply customers. If you look at the profile of Boots customers they fit the Simply model 100%.
Four specially made post-pay tariffs have been put together for Boots customers, who are expected to be lured with considerable reward points on Boots successful Advantage loyalty card. The Advantage card is thought to be one of the worlds most successful loyalty cards, with a base of around 18 million users. Customers who sign up to a £40-a-month Boots tariff stand to accumulate 4,420 points through signing up and monthly line rental.
One industry figure emphasised the huge potential for mobile sales at Boots given the retailers vast estate of 1,400 UK stores in prime locations and massive footfall of high-spending customers. Women are really getting into mobiles but sometimes find specialist mobile retailers too macho, said one senior industry source.
A trial is currently running at four Boots outlets in Nottingham, Bristol, Newcastle and Derby, where the Vodafone brand sits side-by-side with the Boots marque.
Boots had been selling a small selection of prepay handsets in some of its stores after a supply deal had been brokered with Caudwell-owned Dextra Solutions in November last year. That deal had also been extended last week.
What are they offering?
Four exclusive contract tariffs:
£15 a month: 25 minutes (1000 points + 60 monthly points)
£25 a month: 125 minutes (1500 points + 100 monthly points)
£30 a month: 200 minutes (2000 points + 120 monthly points)
£40 a month: 350 minutes (2500 points + 160 monthly points)
Nine prepay handsets at launch:
Vodafone Simply, Sendo SC360, Nokia 2600, Panasonic X400, Sharp GX15, VK530, Nokia 6020, Sharp GX25, Sagem myV55
© Copyright 2005 : Noble House Media Ltd
http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-test/publish/article_469.shtml