Retailer disposes of its majority stake to Relevant Holdings, a shareholder group set up by rival Dutch retailer Optie 1, and follows the sale of The Phone House Deutschland last week
Dixons Carphone has sold its 83 per cent majority stake in The Phone House Netherlands to Relevant Holdings, a shareholder group set up by rival Dutch retailer Optie 1.
Following the completion of the deal, which is expected to take place at the end of June, Dixons Carphone will remain a minority shareholder and provide insurance and technical support to customers.
Relevant Holdings plans to maintain the Phone House brand, with the 70 Optie 1 stores mainly located in smaller cities and 145 Phone House stores located in larger cities.
The move comes just over a week after Dixons Carphone agreed the sale of The Phone House Deutschland to German MVNO Drillisch. The financial values of both deals have not been disclosed.
Following this announcement, a spokesperson for Dixons Carphone told Mobile News the decision is part of European review of the business, following the £3.74 billion merger deal between Dixons and Carphone Warehouse last August.
Dixons Carphone CEO Sebastian James said: “Following last week’s disposal of The Phone House Deutschland, this is another step in our clear strategic plan to focus on our core retail business in markets where we have scale and real relevance to customers, whilst growing through service partnerships in the wider international arena. We look forward to building a strong and healthy business together.”
Relevant Holdings supervisory board chairman Henk Kamsteeg added: “Our aim is to maintain the existing Phone House and Optie1 brands and sub-brands in the market as separate brands. Phone House and Optie1 will be positioned differently, with the Optie1 telecom stores mainly located in smaller cities and Phone House stores in larger cities.”
Tthere are around 1,162 Phone House-branded stores across Europe. Dixons Carphone has more than 1,298 stores in the UK (including around 800 Carphone Warehouse branded) and nearly 3,000 globally.
