EE may end agreement with Carphone Warehouse; merger with Dixons could be under threat
EE (Everything Everywhere) is set to end its relationship with listed UK-based phone retailer Carphone Warehouse, The Sunday Telegraph reported. The newspaper cited unspecified sources who said EE was reviewing its retail strategy and would likely decide “within weeks” to withdraw from its relationship with Carphone Warehouse.
Carphone Warehouse’s agreed GBP 3.6bn (EUR 4.43bn) merger with Dixons Retail would be under threat if it lost its commercial relationship with EE, the item said. Carphone Warehouse currently has relationships with the mobile network operators O2 and Vodafone as well as EE, but losing EE – the largest UK network operator – would undermine Carphone’s selling point as the leading retailer for consumers to compare network deals, the report added.
The item went on to cite sources who said EE had yet to decide whether to withdraw from its agreement with Carphone Warehouse or not.
Orange, a French mobile network operator, and its joint venture (JV) partner Deutsche Telekom own EE. The item noted that Orange’s deputy CEO Gervais Pellissier last week suggested that EE should deal directly with consumers rather than going through third-party retailers.
An EE spokesperson said the company does not comment on ongoing discussions, but confirmed that the company is reviewing its distribution strategy and is looking to reduce the number of partnerships it is involved in.
A Carphone Warehouse spokesperson quoted in the report said the company is in discussions with the major network operators regarding ways to capitalise on its proposed merger with Dixons Retail.
EE is also reviewing its relationship with Carphone’s UK-based rival Phones4U, the report said.
Source Sunday Telegraph