Dixons Carphone PLC (LON:DC.) and US mobile network Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) are ending their retail joint venture because of the “changing US mobile market landscape”.
The FTSE 250-listed firm said it is to concentrate its focus on its Honeybee tablet sales software, used under white label by companies such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which the UK group will roll out across the Sprint store network.
Sprint, the fourth-largest US wireless carrier and backed by Japan’s SoftBank, and Dixons Carphone - which owns the Currys PC World chain in the UK - entered into an agreement in July 2015 to open and manage a number of Sprint Connect branded stores in the US as part of an expansion plan.
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After the experiment proved a success, the pair announced in January 2016 that they would expand the tie-up to 500 stores at an expected cost to Dixons Carphone of US$32mln.
But following a review by Sprint of its distribution strategy, the retailer and telecoms group has agreed that Dixons will sell its 50% stake in the joint venture to Sprint for an undisclosed amount.
Andrew Harrison, deputy chief executive of Dixons Carphone said "now is the right time to transfer these stores to Sprint, and to concentrate on our exciting software business.”
Honeybee software to be the focus
Honeybee is a digital platform that simplifies and streamlines the sales process. The software is housed on devices such as handheld tablets and helps staff adapt to individual customer needs.
In March 2016, Dixons Carphone signed a new deal to deploy Honeybee into the Sprint retail estate.
In late afternoon trading in London, Dixons Carphone shares were down 1.6%, or 5.2p at 312.0p.
In pre-market trading in New York, Sprint shares were 0.2% lower at US$8.58.