Telstra has moved to distance itself from Allphones, the franchise mobile phone chain that is currently before the Federal Court defending an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission prosecution.
Telstra has terminated a distribution agreement with Allphones for its Telstra and BigPond products from 14 February in a move that is likely to increase tensions between the company and its franchisees.
Allphones has been instructed to remove all Telstra products from stores along with marketing and point of sale materials before the St Valentine’s Day deadline.
Telstra, which is developing its own T(life) store network nationally, said in a statement the termination of the distribution agreement with Allphones was related to the franchise chain’s inability to “service the entire communication needs of our customers”.
“In line with Allphones’s strategic direction, Allphones staff are not trained to support all of the telecommunications needs of our customers, therefore we will concentrate our distribution partnerships with dealers who are willing to invest in the whole-of-customer experience.”
Telstra made no comment on the ACCC action under the franchise code of conduct and Trade Practices Act against Allphones.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
