Telstra and Apple reseller's $17m expansion plan

Store operator Vita Group plans on increasing its reliance on Telstra by acquiring up to $17 million worth of its retail stores.

Chief financial officer Andrew Layden said: "The move is about creating a stronger partnership with Telstra based on the products and services that we sell. It'll allow us to increase sales volume."

The stores will be a mix of franchisees and company-owned stores. "We tend to choose stores where we have strong management clusters," Layden told CRN.

Layden could not disclose the number of Telstra stores Vita Group intends to buy.

The company announced it has discarded its value-added offerings in exchange for Telstra-branded services. "Telstra wants to have a consistent proposition across its footprint," Layden said.

In September, Vita Group acquired Telstra partner and solutions provider Camelon IT. At the time, chief executive Maxine Horne told CRN Camelon's relationship with Telstra factored into the $4.6 million acquisition.

Vita Group manages 177 retail stores for companies including Apple reseller next byte, One Zero and Fone Zone. More than half of its retail properties are Telstra stores.

Horne told CRN in September Vita Group accounts for 25 percent of Telstra stores in Australia. The company holds a renewable master-licence until 31 August 2018.