Phone Service Centre plots UK expansion
Phone Service Centre, the repair chain for mobile phones, is to expand in the UK as it looks to find sites for 50 stores over the next six months.
A subsidiary of mobile phone insurance provider SPB Group, the brand has developed a chain of over 200 repair and replacement stores across France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Spain and Tunisia, which trade as Point Service Mobiles.
In the UK, Phone Service Centre has piloted its concept through a shop in Welbeck Street in London’s West End which opened in January.
The brand has now appointed Prime Retail to find shop units or kiosks of more than 300 square feet in high-footfall secondary and tertiary locations throughout the UK. It is also considering kiosks within shopping centres and concessions within larger department stores or supermarkets.
Prime Retail said Phone Service Centre had identified a gap in the UK market which, unlike the rest of Europe, does not have a national mobile phone repair business.
Phone Service Centre will offer a walk-in service where customers can wait with a coffee for the phone to be repaired or pick it up later in the day. In addition, its on-site technicians will advise on software issues and the stores will carry around 60 different accessories and add-ons for mobile phones and tablets.
Tim Hance, managing partner of Prime Retail, said: “There are no other national retailers in the UK offering this service so Phone Service Centre has identified a real point of difference for the high street. We are now actively looking for opportunities and are already considering several suitable sites.”
