Dixons Carphone to run United States stores for telco giant Sprint – Computer Business

Among other movers, Dixons Carphone was up 1.2 percent after announcing a deal with Sprint Corp.to open and manage Sprint-branded stores in the United States.

Britain’s top share index was steady on Thursday, with caution over events in Greece offset by gains in Dixons Carphone after the electrical goods and mobile phone retailer struck a U.S. deal.

Dixons Carphone would invest up to $32 million in the second phase to obtain a 50% interest in a joint venture with Sprint, it said. “We are committed to offering the best customer experience when buying wireless products and services”. This partnership marks Dixons Carphone’s first big move after a recent merger, and Sprint’s latest bricks’n’mortar expansion following last year’s opening of concession stands in 1,435 RadioShack stores.

Dixons Carphone was formed previous year in a £3.8 billion merger of mobile phone chain Carphone Warehouse and retail group Dixons, which owned high street gadget stores Currys and PC World.

Broker Citigroup said: “This is a significant deal and would represent a step change in CWS profitability over the next three years“.

“We know what consumers are looking for, and are not now getting from their mobile provider”, said Hamish White, general manager of iD. “We’re confident we’ll reach our ambitious target in the Irish market”.

Carphone had two separate relationships with BestBuy. Dixons had a spectacular failure with Silo, a USA electricals retailer it bought in 1987 but sold in 1993 after racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Dixons Carphone formerly had a joint venture with Best Buy, and the company helped launch Best Buy Mobile.

Mike van Dulken, Head of Research at Accendo Markets, said: ‘Further evidence of DC’s expertise and reputation comes from the partnership seeing it commit to providing specialist support and retail know-how to the Sprint group as a whole.