The Carphone Warehouse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC
Image:CWlogo.PNG
Type Public
Founded 1989
Headquarters Acton, London, UK
Key people Charles Dunstone, CEO
G. Roux de Bezieux, COO
Roger Taylor, CFO
Sir Brian Pitman, Chairman
Industry Telecommunications
Products Home and Mobile telephone
equipment and services
Employees 12,000 (1,921 stores)
Subsidiaries TalkTalk
Website cpwplc.com

The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC (LSE: CPW), known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. They are based in the United Kingdom. Outside the UK & Republic of Ireland, the retailer is named The Phone House.

The company was co-founded (with David Ross[1]) in 1989 by current CEO Charles Dunstone from £6,000 savings.

Contents

[edit] Timeline

Main office, in Acton, West London
Main office, in Acton, West London
Year Month Event
1989 The Carphone Warehouse launched
1994 Carphone Warehouse Insurance launched
1996 First Phone House stores in UK, Paris, Dublin
1999 January Acquisition of Tandy (UK) for £9m[2]
2000 June Acquisition of Cellcom for £9.1m[3]
2003 TalkTalk brand launched
2004 January Acquisition of E2Save for £4.7m[4]
March Acquisition of Xtra in Spain for £11.6m[4]
November TalkTalk Broadband launched
2005 March Acquisition of One Stop Phone Shop for £15m[5]
December Acquisition of Tele2 for £11.5m[5]
December Acquisition of One.Tel for £169.6m[5]
2006 April "Free" TalkTalk broadband offer launched[6]
October Acquisition of AOL UK for £370m[7]
October Vodafone switches its contract business to Phones4U[8]
November Launch of a MVNO in Spain under the brand "Happy Móvil"
2007 January Suspension of the Big Brother sponsorship deal.

[edit] Corporate values

Carphone Warehouse promotes a set of "five fundamental rules" in order to foster a corporate culture focused on customer service.

  1. If we don't look after the customer, someone else will.
  2. Nothing is gained by winning an argument but losing a customer.
  3. Always deliver what we promise. If in doubt, under promise and over deliver.
  4. Always treat customers as we ourselves would like to be treated.
  5. The reputation of the whole company is in the hands of each individual.

Corporate polices are based on these rules and staff performance measurement is also partially based on demonstrating these rules.

[edit] Repairs

The Carphone Warehouse offers the largest Mobile Phone repair service in the UK. It also has repair centres in all of the countries it is actively trading in.

[edit] TalkTalk

Main article: TalkTalk

TalkTalk is the home telecommunications branch of The Carphone Warehouse.

[edit] Marketing campaigns


Mowbli Logo

In the 1990s Carphone Warehouse became well-known for using the Stereo MCs' "Connected" in its advertisements.

Mowbli, the little mobile phone, is Carphone Warehouse's mascot. He appears mainly in radio advertisements with his friend Ed (voiced by the Irish comedian Ed Byrne), and also on television advertisements.

[edit] Big Brother (UK)

The company have been the sponsors for the UK's version of Big Brother since series 5 in 2004. In 2006 they also sponsored Celebrity Big Brother and related Celebrity Big Brother shows on Channel 4.

On 17 January 2007, in response to alleged racism in Celebrity Big Brother, Charles Dunstone said: "We are talking to Channel 4. The sponsorship is constantly under review. Clearly we are against racism. Most people understand that the person who has their name associated with the programme does not necessarily condone the content.

[9][10]

On the 18 January 2007, Carphone Warehouse announced that it had suspended its sponsorship of the show as Channel 4 had not taken sufficient action in response to the alleged racism in the show.[11]

On the 8 March 2007, the company permanently dropped its sponsorship of the show.[12]

[edit] Acquisitions

[edit] AOL UK

On 10 October 2006, Carphone Warehouse announced the purchase of parts of AOL UK for £370m.[7][13][14] This makes Carphone Warehouse the 3rd largest broadband provider, with over 2 million customers, and the largest LLU Operator with more than 150,000 LLU customers.[15][16]

The acquisition process completed on the 9 December 2006

It has also been stated in their press release[7] that AOL UK Audience business will remain a separate organization and brand with a revenue sharing agreement. It is not yet clear if the AOL UK Access business (the broadband part) will be fully integrated into CPW.

AOL UK customers will not be automatically transferred to Talk Talk.[17]

AOL is consulting on job cuts. The Times stated "AOL has begun to consult on the cuts, with 100 of a total 500 UK jobs expected to go by Christmas."[18] In line with legal requirements, AOL UK has notified the DTI that redundancies are planned. The Press Gazette stated "The company has informed the DTI that it is possible that it will make more than 100 redundancies".[19]

On the 1st November 2006, it was made public that Karen Thompson, AOL UK CEO and President AOL Europe, had resigned and had been succeeded by Carlo d'Asaro Biondo (previously CEO of AOL France). Karen was responsible for launching AOL UK in 1996.[20]

AOL Broadband logo (previously AOL UK)
AOL Broadband logo (previously AOL UK)

AOL customers, welcome to the Carphone Warehouse family
I want to reassure you that we have no plans to change the service in any way at all. It will continue to be run by the existing team and will work, look and feel just as it does today. We have entered a long-term deal with Time Warner to keep providing the AOL content and we don't want to mess with what has clearly been a very popular product to date. In the New Year, all AOL customers will be offered the choice of transferring to Free Broadband if they want, by moving their line rental to TalkTalk and signing up for our Talk3 international telephone service. There will be continuity of service with the ability to take your AOL email address to TalkTalk and access to much of the content you previously enjoyed.

– Charles Dunstone, 13 November 2006[21]

It was made public on 14 December 2006 that Carlo d'Asaro Biondo had resigned after only six weeks in his new role. Philip Rowley (the chairman of AOL Europe) has taken over on a temporary basis. The Guardian states: the management turmoil has put the European operation in "freefall" and created a "massive vacuum", according to one AOL insider. The same article estimates that 5,000 AOL jobs are to go world-wide (25% of staff) with a significant number from AOL UK.[22]

In January 2007 AOL UK is re-branded as AOL Broadband.

[edit] E2Save, The Phone Spot, One Stop Phone Shop and simfone.co.uk

The Carphone Warehouse own four mobile phone e-tailers, E2Save, The Phone Spot and One Stop Phone Shop and simfone.co.uk. These were competitors acquired by the company. Orders are fulfilled through the Carphone Warehouse. However, each company has its own terms and conditions and most importantly - rules regarding promotions. Each offer reduced line rental by 'cash back' redemption. Customers must send in bills and vouchers to claim back line rental paid to the network. Simfone.co.uk is different from the other online retailers , because it compares all the deals from retailers such as e2save , carphone warehouse and more in one convenient place

In the case of the One Stop Phone Shop, Customers have had a history of problems in claiming their cash back and in the promised delivery of mobile phones, which are often faulty upon delivery. Customers are then told to take their broken phones to the carphone warehouse- eliminating the aspect of convenience in online shopping.[23][24][25]

[edit] Data protection

During 2005 TalkTalk's proactive sales techniques drew criticism in the press when it was accused of practising "slamming" to win new customers. [26] Customers who bought mobile phones from Carphone Warehouse retail outlets alleged that their landline accounts were subsequently switched without their consent [27].

On the 15 August 2006, the Information Commissioner's Office issued Preliminary Enforcement Notices for breaches of PECR (The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) against Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk for making marketing calls to people who are signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or people who have asked that the company make no further calls to them.[28][29]

On 28 October 2006 in a Times interview Richard Thomas, Britain's Information Commissioner, stated:[30]

We’re taking action against some of the telecom companies, Talk Talk and Carphone Warehouse. We’re taking action against them because we’ve had a lot of complaints that they’ve been telephoning people with marketing calls, people whose name is on the telephone preference service. And then we do these prosecutions, particularly with private detectives. We’ve got a big case coming up.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ David Ross appointed to board of the National Portrait Gallery. 10 Downing Street (17 February 2006). Retrieved on November 2, 2006.
  2. ^ Carphone Warehouse Snaps Up Tandy's Old UK Stores 01/26/99. Newsbytes PM, (26 January 1999). Retrieved on November 5, 2006.
  3. ^ On 13 June 2000, the Group acquired the trade, assets and certain liabilities of Cellcom Limited, a telecoms services business registered in England, for a gross cash consideration of £9.1m.
    The Carphone Warehouse (2001). Annual Report 2001. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-03.
  4. ^ a b The Carphone Warehouse (2004). Annual Report 2004. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-03.
    • "On 1 January 2004, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of E2save.com Limited, a company registered in England, for an initial gross consideration of £1.4m, with a further contingent deferred consideration of up to £3.3m payable over two years."
    • "On 8 March 2004, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Xtra Telecom SA, a fixed line service provider registered in Spain, for an initial gross consideration of £7.5m, with a further contingent deferred consideration expected to be up to £4.1m payable over two years."
  5. ^ a b c The Carphone Warehouse (2005). Annual Report 2005. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
    • "On 1 March 2005, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of One Stop Phone Shop Limited, a company registered in England and Wales that specialises in the mobile ‘off-the-page’ market, for an initial gross cash consideration of £8.3m, with a further contingent deferred consideration of up to £6.7m payable over two years."
    • "On 16 December 2005, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Tele2 UK Communications Limited (Tele2 UK), a company registered in Englandand Wales, for a gross cash consideration of £11.5m. Tele2 UK is involved in the provision of telecommunications services to residential customers."
    • "On 19 December 2005, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Centrica Telecommunications Limited, Onetel Limited, Telco Holdings Limited, Awardmodel Limited and their subsidiaries (Onetel), all of which are registered in England and Wales, for a gross cash consideration of £169.6m. Onetel is involved in the provision of telecommunications services to both residential and business customers."
  6. ^ The Carphone Warehouse (2006-04-11). Free broadband forever. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  7. ^ a b c "Carphone Warehouse to acquire Time Warner's AOL Internet access business in the UK for £370 million", Carphone Warehouse Press Release, 2006-10-11. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
  8. ^ "Vodafone cans Carphone Warehouse", The Register, 2006-10-12. Retrieved on November 27, 2006.
  9. ^ UK police investigate threats against Big Brother celebs. Ireland on-line (17-01-2007). Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  10. ^ Brook, Stephen (17-01-2007). Big Brother complaints explode. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  11. ^ Big Brother sponsor suspends deal. BBC News (18-01-2007). Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  12. ^ Sponsor evicts C4's Big Brother. BBC News (08-03-2007). Retrieved on March 8, 2007.
  13. ^ "Carphone Warehouse to acquire Time Warner's AOL Internet access business in the UK for £370 million", AOL UK Press Release, 2006-10-11. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
  14. ^ "Carphone Warehouse buying AOL UK", BBC News, 2006-10-11. Retrieved on October 11, 2006.
  15. ^ "State of the nation - Local Loop Unbundling", thinkbroadband.com, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on October 28, 2006.
  16. ^ The exact figure for LLU customers is not in the public domain, hence 150,000 is the estimated minimum. "Carphone Warehouse with 421,000 live broadband users", thinkbroadband.com, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on October 31, 2006.
  17. ^ "AOL broadband customers face dilemma after Talk Talk takeover", The Sunday Times, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
  18. ^ "AOL staff cuts follow its sale to Carphone Warehouse", The Times, 2006-10-12. Retrieved on November 3, 2006.
  19. ^ "Journalists fear cuts at AOL", The Press Gazette, 2006-11-01. Retrieved on November 7, 2006.
  20. ^ "AOL Europe gets new head", The Register, 2006-11-01. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
  21. ^ Charles' Blog
  22. ^ "AOL Europe loses another chief", The Guardian, 2006-12-14. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
  23. ^ Problems with One Stop Phone Shop. Consumer Deals. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
  24. ^ Hintofsarcasm (blog): Beware the One Stop Phone Shop!. Hintofsarcasm. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
  25. ^ Forum OSPS: I would never buy anything again from this company under any circumstances!. DooYoo. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
  26. ^ "Phone scam hits thousands", Daily Mail, 2005-04-25. Retrieved on March 19, 2007.
  27. ^ "When slamming the phone prompts a row", The Guardian, 2005-04-23. Retrieved on March 19, 2007.
  28. ^ Preliminary Enforcement Notices (pdf). ICO. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
  29. ^ Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2426 The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
  30. ^ "Full text of the interview with Richard Thomas", The Times, 2006-10-28. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.

[edit] References

"Carphone Warehouse rescued with AOL buy", The Register, 2006-11-15. Retrieved on November 17, 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


This box: view • talk • edit
UK mobile phone companies
T-Mobile UK | Vodafone UK | O2 | Orange UK | 3
Mobile virtual network operators
BT Mobile | Dot Mobile | Fresh Mobile | TalkTalk | Tesco Mobile | Virgin Mobile


Mobile phone companies of Spain
movistar | Orange | Vodafone | Yoigo
Mobile Virtual Network Operators:
Euskaltel | Carrefour Móvil | Happy Móvil | Telecor (El Corte Inglés)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/e/The_Carphone_Warehouse_4eac.html"