Fone Forum

Tesco is planning to open two standalone telecoms stores per week in the run up to Christmas.  So far the company has opened a total of 30 Telecoms Centers since the first one was launched a couple of years back.

‘We have around 30 centers at the moment and are currently opening another couple every week in the roll-up to Christmas,’ Noel Burrows, head of marketing at Tesco Mobile said.

The standalone store open within large Tesco Extra stores throughout the country.

The accelerated rate at which the dedicated telecoms stores are opening coincides with Tesco Mobile’s launch of Sim only contracts, which are only sold in the Telecom Centers and online.  The company also hopes to catch a larger share of the Christmas market with the standalone stores.

But the economic downturn will also have an impact on the Christmas market for mobiles.

‘Pay as you go is about gifting and even with the economic downturn people are still going to be gifting.  Whether they spend the same we will have to see.  People may choose to go for less expensive handsets,’ Burrows said.

During the summer the company announced it had 1.5 million subscribers, but this figure is now believed to be closer to 2 million.

See:-  Mobile Today (http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Tesco_speeds_up_standalone_shop_openings_ahead_of_Christmas.html).