tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45394187788285073002024-02-24T23:29:48.868-08:00carphone warehouseThe Vanara'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985803471452407002noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539418778828507300.post-27706728439316221802011-10-04T03:29:00.000-07:002011-10-04T03:29:16.603-07:00The Carphone Warehouse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><!--[endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Carphone Warehouse Group PLC (LSE: CPW), known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy. Outside the UK and Ireland, the retailer is named The Phone House.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">History</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The company was co-founded in 1989, when most portable phones were too bulky to carry and called car phones, by current CEO Charles Dunstone. Dunstone put £6,000 into the company from his savings, and then called his old school friend and Chartered Accountant David Ross, who agreed to become Finance Director. Based originally in Dunstone's rented flat on the Marylebone Road, London, four years later the company had grown to 20 stores. Now also trading as The Phone House, Carphone Warehouse is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While Dunstone became the public face of the Carphone Warehouse, Ross (described by Dunstone as his "secret weapon"), developed and drove the high street retail footprint of the company by buying Tandy in the UK. Dunstone approached old customer Guy Johnson of NEC UK - later described by one City analyst as "the Ringo Starr of Carphone Warehouse" for being in the right place at the right time - to become the third partner, later taking up the role of Logistics and Distribution director.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ross led the footprint development of the company, under The Phone House brand, across Europe and the United States. When Ross led the IPO of Carphone Warehouse in 2000, it had been so successful that the partners had not needed to borrow or involve outsiders: Dunstone owned half, Ross a third, and Johnson most of the rest.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Only Johnson of the three partners had a family, and having according to media reports becoming less enamoured by the Ross-led European expansion of the organisation, sold the majority of his stake in 2001 and retired with his young family to his holiday home in Portugal.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While Ross had been joint-Chief Operating Officer with Dunstone from 1990 and 2003, whereas Dunstone stayed with the business that he still runs today, Ross started to give up his executive position from 2003. Ross became deputy chairman in July 2005, and by 2008 was a non-executive director. Ross resigned from the board in December 2008 over an issue with shares.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The group split in March 2010, with TalkTalk and New Carphone Warehouse becoming publicly listed companies. Charles Dunstone became Chairman of both companies. New Carphone Warehouse holds a 50% stake in Best Buy Europe and a 47.5% share in Virgin Mobile France. Dido Harding became CEO of TalkTalk and Roger Taylor CEO of New Carphone Warehouse.1</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Timeline</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Year <span> </span>Month <span> </span>Event</div><div class="MsoNormal">1989 <span> </span>The Carphone Warehouse launched</div><div class="MsoNormal">1994 <span> </span>Carphone Warehouse Insurance launched</div><div class="MsoNormal">1996 <span> </span>First Phone House stores open outside of the UK, in Paris and Dublin</div><div class="MsoNormal">1999 <span> </span>January <span> </span>Acquisition of Tandy (UK only) for £9m2</div><div class="MsoNormal">2000 <span> </span>July <span> </span>IPO on main market of London Stock Exchange at a price of GBP£2.00 per share</div><div class="MsoNormal">2001 <span> </span>June <span> </span>Acquisition of Cellcom for £9.1m3</div><div class="MsoNormal">2002 <span> </span>Acquired Opal Telecom</div><div class="MsoNormal">2003 <span> </span>TalkTalk brand launched</div><div class="MsoNormal">2004 <span> </span>January <span> </span>Acquisition of e2save for £4.7m4</div><div class="MsoNormal">March <span> </span>Acquisition of Xtra in Spain for £11.6m4</div><div class="MsoNormal">November <span> </span>TalkTalk Broadband launched</div><div class="MsoNormal">2005 <span> </span>March <span> </span>Acquisition of OneStopPhoneShop for £15m5</div><div class="MsoNormal">December <span> </span>Acquisition of Tele2 for £11.5m5</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Acquisition of One.Tel for £169.6m5</div><div class="MsoNormal">2006 <span> </span>April <span> </span>"Free" TalkTalk broadband offer launched6</div><div class="MsoNormal">October <span> </span>Acquisition of the access business of AOL UK for £370m7</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Vodafone switches its contract business to Phones4U8</div><div class="MsoNormal">November <span> </span>Launch of a MVNO in Spain under the brand "Happy Móvil"</div><div class="MsoNormal">2007 <span> </span>January <span> </span>Suspension of the Big Brother sponsorship deal.</div><div class="MsoNormal">May <span> </span>Roll out of Geek Squad nationwide.</div><div class="MsoNormal">June <span> </span>Three-year £7million X Factor sponsorship deal signed.9</div><div class="MsoNormal">July <span> </span>Carphone Warehouse offers free laptop with AOL Broadband (counter-offer of PC World's free laptop with Orange Broadband deal).</div><div class="MsoNormal">September <span> </span>The Carphone Warehouse joins the FTSE100</div><div class="MsoNormal">2008 <span> </span>May <span> </span>Carphone announces £1.1bn takeover by Best Buy</div><div class="MsoNormal">2010 <span> </span>March <span> </span>Carphone and TalkTalk split to create two separate publicly listed companies</div></div>The Vanara'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985803471452407002noreply@blogger.com0