Dick Smith expects monster sales from new Vodafone deal

Dick Smith is forecasting a 50 percent increase in mobile phone-related sales within three years on the back of a major partnership with Vodafone.

The retailer today announced a "long term" partnership to sell Vodafone's 4G postpaid services in 276 stores. The deal will more than double the carrier's postpaid retail presence in Australia.

The partnership will provide a major boost to the number of retail stores for Vodafone, which has 273 stores in addition to the Dick Smith stores. Of these existing stores, 114 are company owned and 159 are partner and dealer stores.

Dick Smith CEO Nick Abboud today said he believed the retailer could grow mobility sales to 20 percent of the group's overall revenue within three years.

Mobile sales have been a revenue driver in Dick Smith's financial turnaround. Earlier this year the company reported it had beaten earnings predictions for the first half of the 2014 financial year. Dick Smith claims to be the largest independent and prepaid and outright phone retailer in Australia.

Unlike Dick Smith's Telstra and Vodafone postpaid rollout in September last year through MVNO Think Mobile, today's announcement is a direct sales relationship between the retailer and Vodafone.

A Vodafone spokesperson told CRN the carrier has a "buddy" system in place in some Dick Smith stores, with Vodafone staff helping Dick Smith staff get accustomed to the postpaid plans.

CRN understands that Dick Smith's relationships with Vodafone is not exclusive, with Vodafone leaving open the potential to partner with other retailers.

Vodafone also has a no-exclusive partnership with Allphones, in addition to Dick Smith. The carrier also has exclusive partnerships with MO's Mobiles and Vodafone Select dealers, as well as 20,000 prepay points of sale including Kmart, Target, BigW, Woolworths, Coles, Australia Post, Officeworks, 7 Eleven and other stores.