French telecommunications group Orange is playing down the impact on it of the expected imminent closure of Nashua Mobile, in whose stores it was building a brand presence.
Nashua Mobile parent Reunert said on Monday it had entered into agreements to sell its subscriber base to MTN and Vodacom, and that it was engaged in talks to sell its Cell C customer base, too.
Once concluded, and the necessary approvals gained, Reunert intends closing down Nashua Mobile and its operations.
Sébastian Crozier, CEO of Orange Horizons, the Orange subsidiary charged with expanding the group’s presence into new markets, said that if Nashua Mobile is shut down, it won’t have an impact on the company. “It was a non-exclusive deal, so we already planned to open other stores, including launching a store under the Orange brand,” he said.
“We were already thinking of retail agreements outside of Nashua, which we are in discussions about right now,” said Crozier. “The Orange brand is present in many ways in South Africa, the main one being our online store, and we now have a planned Wi-Fi offering in Cape Town.”
Even if Nashua outlets are closed, Crozier said Orange will continue to sell its Sim cards and other products through its online store, which he said is “doing well”.
Orange established a presence in Nashua Mobile’s retail stores last year. It created a brand and sales presence in Gauteng and the Western Cape, offering Orange Sim cards for international travellers. The Orange counters at Nashua Mobile stores are manned by Nashua Mobile staff, who have been trained to offer the services. — (c) 2014 NewsCentral Media