3GScottishUser
20th May 2005, 06:21 PM
From Mobile Today (20/05/2005):
Orange has suddenly dropped commissions and promotional bonuses this week, with bonuses on value and premium price plans down by as much as 40%, in an apparent bid to put an end to cashback deals on its high-end tariffs.
The official message is that the changes, announced mid-month last Friday, are in line with the operators current strategy of focusing on value rather than volume. However, distributors believe that the changes are designed primarily to protect the operator from dealers not honouring their cashback deals.
Chris Hough, Oranges head of independent retail, said earlier that the operator wants to change consumers mindsets to recognise that handsets have a value (Mobile, 8 April).
I hate cashback deals with a passion. Orange has been stung by a few examples of bad practice in the past, said Frank Masson, head of business development at Data Select.
Distributors also point out that Oranges impressive results during the past quarter may mean it is trying to slow down acquisitions.
Their acquisition budget for the period may well be exhausted. They probably want to slow connections down for a period of time and the only way of doing that is through lower commissions, said Andrew Dawson, sales director of EBS.
Some dealers say the changes are misguided, arguing that Orange wont be able to stop cashback deals from happening as they are often the only way independents can offer better deals than national retailers. Others say that the changes constitute a bold move on Oranges part to put an end to the vicious cycle of cashback deals.
A senior distributor said: Some dealers have been known to put through high numbers of fictitious connections on premium tariffs only to do a runner with the money.
One dealer said: It was inevitable that this would happen sooner or later, and its just a matter of one operator doing it and the rest following suit. Cashback has become a massive vicious cycle. In the long run, I can see this as being a very healthy development for the industry.
Full Story:
http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-test/publish/article_392.shtml
Orange has suddenly dropped commissions and promotional bonuses this week, with bonuses on value and premium price plans down by as much as 40%, in an apparent bid to put an end to cashback deals on its high-end tariffs.
The official message is that the changes, announced mid-month last Friday, are in line with the operators current strategy of focusing on value rather than volume. However, distributors believe that the changes are designed primarily to protect the operator from dealers not honouring their cashback deals.
Chris Hough, Oranges head of independent retail, said earlier that the operator wants to change consumers mindsets to recognise that handsets have a value (Mobile, 8 April).
I hate cashback deals with a passion. Orange has been stung by a few examples of bad practice in the past, said Frank Masson, head of business development at Data Select.
Distributors also point out that Oranges impressive results during the past quarter may mean it is trying to slow down acquisitions.
Their acquisition budget for the period may well be exhausted. They probably want to slow connections down for a period of time and the only way of doing that is through lower commissions, said Andrew Dawson, sales director of EBS.
Some dealers say the changes are misguided, arguing that Orange wont be able to stop cashback deals from happening as they are often the only way independents can offer better deals than national retailers. Others say that the changes constitute a bold move on Oranges part to put an end to the vicious cycle of cashback deals.
A senior distributor said: Some dealers have been known to put through high numbers of fictitious connections on premium tariffs only to do a runner with the money.
One dealer said: It was inevitable that this would happen sooner or later, and its just a matter of one operator doing it and the rest following suit. Cashback has become a massive vicious cycle. In the long run, I can see this as being a very healthy development for the industry.
Full Story:
http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-test/publish/article_392.shtml