Phones 4U
Encyclopedia
Phones 4u is a large independent mobile phone
retailer in the UK. It is part of the 4u Group based in Newcastle-under-Lyme
, Staffordshire
. Since opening in 1996, it has expanded to over 550 stores throughout the United Kingdom
.
and his brother Brian founded Midlands Mobile Phones, to wholesale distribute mobile phones. The company became the Caudwell Group, for which the high street retail arm was named Phones 4u.
On 26 September 2006, The Caudwell Group was sold for a sum of £1.46 billion to private equity
firms Providence Equity Partners
and Doughty Hanson. In February 2008, the group bought online retailer Dialaphone
in a deal brokered by Tim Whiting worth an estimated £9 million. In July 2010, Phones 4u partnered with electrical chain Dixons to place 49 "concessions" inside a small number of Currys
and PC World
stores.
The group was acquired by the private equity group BC Partners
in March 2011. The deal, estimated to be worth in the region of £700 million, was agreed several months after talks with a US private equity owner were aborted.
The 4u Group consists of the following brands:
Aside from handsets, Phones 4u stock mobile phone accessories and tablet computer
devices.
Insurance is available on many of its products from the financial arm of the 4u Group, Policy Administration Services.
In November 2008, Ofcom
found Phones 4u guilty of misleading customers over network coverage, failing to swiftly provide refunds for faulty handsets and having unfair terms on chequeback schemes. Phones 4u have given Ofcom a series of undertakings to ensure that similar issues do not rise again. The company said 80% of complaints were due to problems in its repair business, rather than mis-selling, which the company was in the process of resolving. After six months of intense scrutiny, the Ofcom investigation resulted in some minor changes to terms and conditions.
There are also complaints from general consumers appearing on the web, with stories in Google News about disgruntled shoppers feeling pressured by hard sell tactics for phone insurance. The retailer has begun to retrain staff and move away from some of its more aggressive practices, including ‘street-fighting’, the practice of sales people standing in shop doorways to lure in customers.
In 2004, the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords
featured in a television advert driving up and down Britain singing about the latest offers.
Phones 4u’s 2006 campaign starred a variety of eccentric characters, including ‘Jack’ and ‘Scary Mary’, who needed help with their mobile phones. The adverts were often set at the British seaside and featured the Phones 4u hand gesture for the first time, which would be revived for later campaigns.
In summer 2009, Phones 4u and communications agency Adam & Eve launched a new advertising campaign based around social networking and popularity called "Great Deals for Popular People". The theme around the campaign is that the customer needs to have 50 contacts on their phone to get Phones4U's best deals. In one of the ads, a scout master is displayed with the caption "You may be good with knots, you may be good with children, but there's no way you've got 50 friends on your phone", along with a large "NO" sticker. The campaign was met with criticism from the Scouting Association, and the advert was pulled.
In 2010, it launched the "It's What We Do" campaign. Television adverts showed proessional Mumbian wrestlers and Bangkok prison guards getting accustomed to a new handset.
In 2011 Phones4u switched its focus to a broader demographic, spending £5.2m on a horror-themed price-led promotion called "Missing Our Deals Will Haunt You". The campaign included two television advertisements: one taking inspiration from modern horror, featuring a young girl; with the other making a play on the classic zombie genre. In 2011, the firm's horror-led promotion was put under review by the Advertising Standards Authority
after complaints about the use of a young girl in one of the telelvion adverts. In the same year, the ASA issued a rebuke regarding a Phone4u advert depicting Jesus alongside a range of Android phones with the message "Miraculous deals on Samsung Galaxy Android phones". The ASA said "although the ads were intended to be light-hearted and humorous, their depiction of Jesus winking and holding a thumbs-up sign, with the text "miraculous" deals during Easter, the Christian Holy Week which celebrated Christ's resurrection, gave the impression that they were mocking and belittling core Christian beliefs,".
Phones 4u have often backed its advertising campaigns with sponsorships. Television soap Hollyoaks
and entertainment program Harry Hill’s TV Burp have both been sponsored by the retailer. A shirt sponsorship deal was agreed with Birmingham City FC for two seasons beginning in 2001.
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
retailer in the UK. It is part of the 4u Group based in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. Since opening in 1996, it has expanded to over 550 stores throughout the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Company Background
In 1987, John CaudwellJohn Caudwell
John Caudwell is an English businessman who has made most of his money in the mobile phone business. In 2005, the Sunday Times estimated Caudwell's wealth at £1.28 billion .-Early life:...
and his brother Brian founded Midlands Mobile Phones, to wholesale distribute mobile phones. The company became the Caudwell Group, for which the high street retail arm was named Phones 4u.
On 26 September 2006, The Caudwell Group was sold for a sum of £1.46 billion to private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firms Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
and Doughty Hanson. In February 2008, the group bought online retailer Dialaphone
Dial-a-Phone
Dialaphone is an independent mobile phone retailer in the United Kingdom. It was established in February 1995 as a direct marketer and supplier of mobile phones and mobile phone accessories. The e-commerce website went online in September 2000...
in a deal brokered by Tim Whiting worth an estimated £9 million. In July 2010, Phones 4u partnered with electrical chain Dixons to place 49 "concessions" inside a small number of Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
and PC World
PC World (retailer)
PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
stores.
The group was acquired by the private equity group BC Partners
BC Partners
BC Partners is a private equity firm specialising in buyouts and acquisitions financing in Europe and the United States. The firm invests across all industries...
in March 2011. The deal, estimated to be worth in the region of £700 million, was agreed several months after talks with a US private equity owner were aborted.
The 4u Group consists of the following brands:
- Phones 4u - high-street and online retailer
- Dialaphone - online retailer
- Policy Administration Services - mobile phone insurance provider
- Lifestyle Services Group - mobile phone insurance
Products
In-store and online, Phones 4u sell feature phones and smartphones from all major manufacturers on both contract agreements and pay as you go tariffs. These are available on all major UK network providers. Gifts ranging from digital cameras to televisions are offered with certain tariffs and devices.Aside from handsets, Phones 4u stock mobile phone accessories and tablet computer
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
devices.
Insurance is available on many of its products from the financial arm of the 4u Group, Policy Administration Services.
Sales and Service
Turnover for the mobile phone retailer grew 22% in 2010, rising from £746m to £911m. The group employs over 8,000 people worldwide and sells 26 phones every minute.In November 2008, Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
found Phones 4u guilty of misleading customers over network coverage, failing to swiftly provide refunds for faulty handsets and having unfair terms on chequeback schemes. Phones 4u have given Ofcom a series of undertakings to ensure that similar issues do not rise again. The company said 80% of complaints were due to problems in its repair business, rather than mis-selling, which the company was in the process of resolving. After six months of intense scrutiny, the Ofcom investigation resulted in some minor changes to terms and conditions.
There are also complaints from general consumers appearing on the web, with stories in Google News about disgruntled shoppers feeling pressured by hard sell tactics for phone insurance. The retailer has begun to retrain staff and move away from some of its more aggressive practices, including ‘street-fighting’, the practice of sales people standing in shop doorways to lure in customers.
Advertising and Sponsorship
Phones 4u is marked for its nuanced, creative and sometimes controversial advertising campaigns.In 2004, the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
featured in a television advert driving up and down Britain singing about the latest offers.
Phones 4u’s 2006 campaign starred a variety of eccentric characters, including ‘Jack’ and ‘Scary Mary’, who needed help with their mobile phones. The adverts were often set at the British seaside and featured the Phones 4u hand gesture for the first time, which would be revived for later campaigns.
In summer 2009, Phones 4u and communications agency Adam & Eve launched a new advertising campaign based around social networking and popularity called "Great Deals for Popular People". The theme around the campaign is that the customer needs to have 50 contacts on their phone to get Phones4U's best deals. In one of the ads, a scout master is displayed with the caption "You may be good with knots, you may be good with children, but there's no way you've got 50 friends on your phone", along with a large "NO" sticker. The campaign was met with criticism from the Scouting Association, and the advert was pulled.
In 2010, it launched the "It's What We Do" campaign. Television adverts showed proessional Mumbian wrestlers and Bangkok prison guards getting accustomed to a new handset.
In 2011 Phones4u switched its focus to a broader demographic, spending £5.2m on a horror-themed price-led promotion called "Missing Our Deals Will Haunt You". The campaign included two television advertisements: one taking inspiration from modern horror, featuring a young girl; with the other making a play on the classic zombie genre. In 2011, the firm's horror-led promotion was put under review by the Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority may refer to:*Advertising Standards Bureau *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority *Advertising Standards Authority...
after complaints about the use of a young girl in one of the telelvion adverts. In the same year, the ASA issued a rebuke regarding a Phone4u advert depicting Jesus alongside a range of Android phones with the message "Miraculous deals on Samsung Galaxy Android phones". The ASA said "although the ads were intended to be light-hearted and humorous, their depiction of Jesus winking and holding a thumbs-up sign, with the text "miraculous" deals during Easter, the Christian Holy Week which celebrated Christ's resurrection, gave the impression that they were mocking and belittling core Christian beliefs,".
Phones 4u have often backed its advertising campaigns with sponsorships. Television soap Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
and entertainment program Harry Hill’s TV Burp have both been sponsored by the retailer. A shirt sponsorship deal was agreed with Birmingham City FC for two seasons beginning in 2001.