Carphone Warehouse is reportedly about to appoint former Orange sales director Stuart Henry as managing director of its indirect distribution channel. Following the official departure of former director of indirect distribution Steve Fraser, Stuart Henry initially took a A full-time appointment is expected to be confirmed very soon.
“Henry should be a good appointment for Carphone” said one source at a network. “He is well-known in the industry, people like him, and he should be able to put relationships with the networks on a good basis.”
Meanwhile Hugh Symons business manager Bob Sweetlove has been given an expanded operational role that will see him develop the overall dealer proposition from both Hugh Symons’ airtime distribution business and Carphone’s SIM-free arm Mobile Phone Express.
The appointment of Henry and the elevation of Sweetlove are expected to speed up the rollout of Carphone Warehouse services to the independent channel, after progress had stalled in recent months.
Closer alignment of the business units will see Hugh Symons dealers buying airtime and handsets on a single account, and sales teams from the two units will get access to a wider customer base.
Henry joined the Carphone Warehouse in June in a consultancy capacity. He had left Red Letter Days, the activity and experience company that was bought last year by Phones International boss Peter Jones, at the end of April.
One of his first recruits could be Chris Hough, who has just resigned as head of indirect sales for Orange. Industry reports suggest that his view of the channel has not been matched by his bosses’ aims, especially in terms of a new Orange emphasis on quality rather than quantity of connections.
Meanwhile Hugh Symons business manager Bob Sweetlove has been given an expanded operational role that will see him develop the overall dealer proposition from both Hugh Symons’ airtime distribution business and Carphone’s SIM-free arm Mobile Phone Express.
The appointment of Henry and the elevation of Sweetlove are expected to speed up the rollout of Carphone Warehouse services to the independent channel, after progress had stalled in recent months.
Closer alignment of the business units will see Hugh Symons dealers buying airtime and handsets on a single account, and sales teams from the two units will get access to a wider customer base.
Henry joined the Carphone Warehouse in June in a consultancy capacity. He had left Red Letter Days, the activity and experience company that was bought last year by Phones International boss Peter Jones, at the end of April.
One of his first recruits could be Chris Hough, who has just resigned as head of indirect sales for Orange. Industry reports suggest that his view of the channel has not been matched by his bosses’ aims, especially in terms of a new Orange emphasis on quality rather than quantity of connections.