Tele2 building Moscow retail chain, to open 300 outlets by year's end
MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - T2 RTC Holding (Tele2 brand) has begun rolling out a mono-brand retail chain in the Moscow region, where it plans to launch mobile services in the second half of 2015.
The first rental agreements have already been signed and construction of mono-brand outlets at major shopping centers in Moscow and the surrounding region will begin soon, the company said.
At present this refers only to retail outlets opening under franchise arrangements, Tele2 told Interfax.
In addition to the outlets at malls, Tele2 plans to open flagship stores "on Moscow's busiest streets."
Tele2 plans to open about 300 mono-brand sales and service outlets under the franchise model by the end of this year, the company told Interfax.
Tele2 also plans to agree on a partnership with national mobile phone retailers and develop alternative sales channels such as Russian Post offices and Rospechat newspaper kiosks, the retail network of Argumenty i Fakty, the hypermarkets of Auchan and Eldorado, banks and others.
Tele2 works with the Svyaznoy retail chain in regions where it has a presence and plans to extend the partnership to the Moscow region. Tele2 is not commenting on negotiations with mobile phone retailer Euroset, which is owned by rival mobile operators Vimpelcom and MegaFon .
Tele2 intends to roll out 3G and 4G networks in Moscow and the surrounding region. The company does not have GSM frequencies to provide voice services in the capital region.
Tele2's strategic goal is to become the third largest mobile operator in Russia by subscriber numbers in 2018. In the third quarter of 2014, Tele2 had less than two thirds of the subscribers of the current third largest provider Vimpelcom - 35.4 million compared to 57.3 million.
