By Grant Shepherd
Optus has announced a restructure to its retail and distribution strategy by no longer licensing Boost Mobile or having retail distribution agreements with TeleChoice.
Optus, managing director of sales, Rohan Ganeson, said the company is making changes to reflect the maturing mobile market and the changing needs of the Australian consumers, in addition to providing a more integrated retail and online presence.
“As the Australian mobile market matures and we move from a period of growth to one of customer retention, we need a distribution model that reflects this,” he said.
“There is too much capacity in the mobile distribution market and we have made a decision to rationalise our third party distribution channels, while strengthening our branded Optus channels.”
The first step of the plan is cutting the Boost Mobile brand from January 20, January, 2013. All existing Boost customer will be retained and offered the same plans under its own Optus pre-paid brand.
In addition to this, Optus will no longer have a retail distribution agreement with Telechoice from March 31, 2012.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we thank TeleChoice for their support over the last decade,” said Ganeson.
“As the products and services we sell become more diversified and sophisticated, so too do the needs of our customers. As a result, retail is no longer just a sales channel, it is a channel where customer come to better understand technology and how to get the most from it.”
Over the next 12 months, Optus will rollout an additional 33 ‘Yes’ Optus Stores and create over 200 jobs as a part of its transformation to become a full service customer channel.
“These initiatives are consistent with our strategy to lead the market in customer experience and customer advocacy,” said Ganeson.
“The market is maturing, consumer behaviour is changing and our retail strategy needs to reflect this. These changes will allow us to better interact with our customers and deliver a more consistent experience across all Optus sales channels.”