Orange opens first mobile phone concession in Asda superstore
Mobile phone operator Orange has opened its first concession in an Asda store that could lead to 30 such units around the UK if the trial proves successful.
The shop-in-shop began trading on October 8 in the grocer’s Eastland store in Manchester and represents the latest move by the mobile networks to operate concessions within major retailers’ stores. Orange already operates 20 units in HMV outlets and Phones 4u recently opened a concession in a Currys Megastore in Birmingham.
The Orange unit in the Asda store has seven dedicated employees from the mobile company who are focused on selling phones, accessories and laptops. To avoid any conflict with the existing Asda mobile offer the concession will not be selling Orange prepay deals.
Despite the interest of the mobile players and general retailers to set up such joint-ventures their performance to date has been patchy with the marriage of Superdrug and 3 ending in divorce.
