 Tesco in 100 mobile stores blitz
Tesco will open over 100 new standalone Tesco Telecom stores in a bid to overtake The Carphone Warehouse as the country's biggest prepay vendor.
A spokeswoman said it was looking for appropriate space around its existing store estate. It is believed the company will target its 118 giant Tesco Extra stores as a priority.
To reach its target, the company will have to open Telecom stores at a rate of more than two stores a week for the remainder of the year. The supermarket giant said it will use its signature strategy of price and choice to claim the top spot.
The company is understood to have sold in excess of a million handsets last year, with its contract business described by one source as comparable to 'a very large dealer'.
The spokeswoman added: 'Our focus is to provide great value, choice and convenience. We are absolutely focused on being the number one destination for customers looking for a mobile phone.'
Some operators have highlighted Tesco, as well as other general retailers, as targets for box breakers. The company has worked hard to curb its breaking levels in order to secure operator support to sufficiently subsidise its prepay handsets.
A large proportion of Tesco's prepay sales come through its own Tesco-branded virtual network in partnership with O2.
Tesco also claims to have the broadest selection of handsets compared with any other retailer there are 59 different handsets in its current range across its own network and 'branded networks'.
Tesco Telecom stores sell contract phones, internet phones and broadband, as well as prepay handsets. The stores have dedicated staff trained in selling phones. It currently has standalone telecom stores in Slough, Newcastle, Redditch, Glasgow, Broadstairs and Leicester.
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23rd February 2007, 09:29 AM
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