US wireless carrier Sprint and UK-based mobile and consumer electronics retailer Dixons Carphone have signed a deal to form a 50/50 joint venture that will open and operate up to 500 new Sprint-branded stores across the US.
The agreement comes after a pilot programme launched last year, which saw strong sales and increased customer satisfaction ratings in such stores in trial markets. Sprint said the joint venture would help fuel its retail transformation, which includes this expansion.
Under the agreement, Sprint and Dixons Carphone Connected World Services (CWS) division will build and operate new Sprint stores in multiple US markets. The two companies will fund the startup costs of the joint venture equally.
The move marks an major expansion of Dixons Carphone in the US market. In a former joint venture with Best Buy, Dixons Carphone helped launch Best Buy Mobile and the Geek Squad programme.
