Phones4u have vocalised their dismay at losing the right to sell any Vodafone service but have said there are looking into other networks and partners to bolster there (now limited) choice of services.
Having said this, things aren’t looking too great for Phones4u – Vodafone have previously stated that they will be opening another 150 own brand stores across the UK therefore upping Phone4u’s competition on the Highstreet. This combined with the ever growing Behemoth that is Dixons Carphone and the fact that Phones4U are pretty much just left with EE who are reviewing relationships with Dixon Carphone and Phones4u at the moment anyway… if I was working for Phones4u I would be yelling abandon ship.
O2’s reason for leaving Phones4u was based on the small amount of sales that the company were responsible for – a meagre 8% of O2’s entire sales last year. Vodafone have not said that proportion of sales is their reason for not renewing their partnership but what other reason can their really be? Maybe they just have had a better counter offer from Dixons Carphone?
Either way, the breaking of the partnership between Vodafone and Phones4u has seen the market value of Dixons Carphone climb up to £4.2bn – probably enough to automatically qualify them for automatic entry to the FTSE100 when next evaluated. So good news for Dixons Carphone then!