130 Phones 4u stores to be rebranded and reopened by operator by mid-November
Vodafone has begun the process of opening some of the 140 Phones 4u stores it acquired when the retailer collapsed last month.
Branches in Tooting, South London and Dagenham in East London today with a number of other locations to follow imminently.
Additional outlets in Sittingbourne, Stretford, Winsford, Peterborough and Bangor (Northern Ireland) will open open tomorrow (Friday October 10).
The operator plans to open 130 of the 140 Phones by mid-November in order to capitalise on the lucrative Christmas market. Additional locations will be named when they are opened.
All have been rebranded as Vodafone and will be fully refitted as part of the network’s £100 million retail investment plan announced in April.
At that time, the operator’s plan was to open up 150 new stores and create 1,400 jobs. The acquisition of Phones 4u stores have brought the operator close to that number in store count and also secured the positions of 900 members of staff.
However, a spokesperson for the operator told Mobile News the total store opening figure, including Phones 4u sites, was going to be higher than that announced in April as work had already began on some sites identified at that time.