The owner of merged mobile phone companies T-Mobile and Orange, Everything Everywhere, has announced plans to open 30 branded stores by the end of 2011.
The stores, which will create 150 new jobs, will open under a new format selling tablet computers like Apple’s iPad 2 and rival alternatives as well as mobile phones.
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Everything Everywhere branded stores will allow customers to download applications directly to their smartphones as well as offering mobile phone battery recharges.
This service will be available to people who do not subscribe to either company.
The stores will also handle phone repairs and give customers the opportunity to use free wi-fi.
According to Everything Everywhere, which is jointly owned by Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, a trial of five stores showed that the new format helped boost footfall by 25 percent compared to other types of communications outlets.
Everything Everywhere, which was formed in 2010 and has 27.7 million customers, will open its branded stores in locations where there are gaps between its 720 Orange and T-Mobile shops.
However, the company is yet to announce these exact locations.
