VHA begins phasing out 3
- — 29 June, 2010 15:11
Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has continued the transition begun after Vodafone and Hutchison Telecommunications merged last year, with the company announcing the multi-branding of all 3 Mobile stores in Australia
The move will involve all 3 Mobile stores selling the entire range of Vodafone products and comes almost one year after the VHA merger. All 3 products will continue to be sold in these multi-brand stores.
"Our retail presence is a great strength of Vodafone and 3 and, for most of our customers, our stores are the public face of our brands. Investment in our retail network is critical, and ensuring we can make the most of the great locations and talents of our store staff is vital in ensuring we deliver the best possible customer experience," said Nigel Dews, CEO of VHA, in a statement.
Nine multi-brand stores will open on 6 July with another 100 stores following on 21 July 21. VHA did not confirm whether this will be before or after the release of the Apple iPhone 4, set to be one of the biggest product launches of the year for the telco. VHA is also refitting 120 Vodafone stores around the country.
In addition to new stores, VHA is offering free standard calls from Vodafone mobile phones to 3 handsets. However this offer is only for Vodafone customers who signed up to a post-paid cap of over $29 per month after 11 March this year. VHA says that free calls from 3 to Vodafone will be offered before the end of July.
"Until now, the merger and integration of 3 and Vodafone has essentially been behind the scenes, focused primarily on bringing our people, our customer service capabilities and IT systems together. Now we’re providing our customers with a great choice of products and services that bring the best of both brands to their fingertips," said Dews.
