(Alliance News) - Vodafone Group PLC is to close 1,000 shops in Europe within two years and upgrade some of the remaining outlets, as part of an overhaul of its retail estate, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, Vodafone operates 7,700 stores in Europe and intends to transform about 3,000 stores by the end of 2021 to improve its services. That could involve upgrading existing shops to larger formats or downgrading them to "kiosk-like click-and-collect" outlets where consumers can pick up pre-ordered items.
Turning to the UK, the FT said, Vodafone plans to continue store openings. It will spend GBP5.5 million opening 24 new franchise stores in the reminder of 2019, creating 100 jobs, with another 50 shops due to be opened next year. Vodafone currently has 400 stores in the UK.
https://www.ft.com/content/d6f93db4-e9cc-11e9-a240-3b065ef5fc55
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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