Charles Dunstone first began selling mobile phones out of his flat on Marylebone Road in 1989. He was 25 years old and had £6,000 of savings to start his business having previously worked at NEC as a sales executive.
The mobile phone market in the UK quickly expanded and with so many different handset manufacturers and networks offering a huge variety of deals, choosing a mobile phone was a baffling experience for many. From the very beginning, Charles set out to provide great customer service as well as simple and impartial advice in the complex world of mobile phone purchasing.
To facilitate this, Charles drew up Five Fundamental Rules, which still remain strong:
- If we don't look after the customer, someone else will
- Nothing is gained by winning an argument but losing a customer
- Always deliver what we promise. If in doubt, under promise and over deliver
- Always treat customers as we ourselves would like to be treated
- The reputation of the whole company is in the hands of each individual
Retail Stores
In the UK The Carphone Warehouse has approximately 820 stores and 5,110 employees.
In Europe, The Carphone Warehouse is called The Phone House with 2,460 stores in 8 European countries, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
TalkTalk
After the relatively quick acquisitions of Opal Telecom, Tele2, OneTel, AOL UK and recently Tiscali UK, the TalkTalk company now offers free fixed-line calls and free broadband to our 4.1 million subscribers (including Tiscali).
Best Buy Europe
In May 2008, Best Buy, the world's leading consumer electronics retailer, and The Carphone Warehouse agreed to create a new company, Best Buy Europe. By bringing Best Buy to Europe we plan to change the face of consumer electronics retailing.
Wireless World Vision
The Carphone Warehouse’s vision is of a Wireless World - connecting numerous technology types for our customers so they can communicate beyond mobile phones and laptops. It is our intention to make laptops accessible for everyone, just as we did for mobile phones. As always, the most important thing we can do for our customers is to make new technology clear and easy to understand with our expert, simple, impartial advice.
Group Information Systems (GIS)
As the Carphone Warehouse group goes from strength to strength and continues to experience strong business growth and increasing complexity in its business, it needs a responsive and adaptable IT department. In order to meet this demand, the Carphone Warehouse IT department has undergone a significant change to the way it operates and has transformed the way in which it delivers IT solutions to the ever changing business. Our IT vision is to provide a flexible service that compliments our commercial environment, helping the Carphone Warehouse to deliver against a strategy of growth and innovation. We believe that a combination of our people, processes, technology and our knowledge of the Carphone Warehouse business are the four foundation pillars on which IT will deliver this promise and build a nimble, innovative and career enhancing IT organisation.
Sector: Communications
Website: www.carphonewarehouse.com