EE to cannibalise pick of Phones 4U estate
Up to 60 Phones 4U stores are set to be saved from closure after mobile operator EE opens negotiations to run the outlets directly following the chain’s collapse into administration last week.
This was precipitated when EE, alongside Vodafone, elected to cease their partnership with the chain by which Phones 4U acted as a middleman in selling their services to consumers.
Vodafone has already agreed to purchase 140 Phones 4U stores in a separate deal.
This abrupt chain of events has led Phones 4U founder John Caudwell to label EE and Vodafone’s actions as an ‘assassination’, pre-planned to ensure both providers gained complete control over their High Street presence.
EE have denied this allegation, asserting that the move was solely geared toward realising a pre-existing strategy to focus on its own branded outlets and cut out intermediaries.
The latest deals aren’t enough to save the rump of the Phones 4U business however with 500 stores still under threat of the axe.