News

Virgin Mobile opening first retail stores

June 28, 2012

Sprint Nextel's Virgin Mobile, the pay-as-you-go carrier, is opening its first 10 retail stores tomorrow in Chicago, becoming the second U.S. prepaid service to offer customers Apple's iPhone.

The stores are also part of a strategy shift for Virgin, according to Bloomberg, which reported that the company previously relied on retailers such as RadioShack and Best Buy to market its service, said Jeff Auman, a vice president at the carrier.

Pay-as-you-go companies, which let customers get mobile-phone service without credit checks and long-term contracts, are trying to reinvigorate the market by offering the iPhone and other popular smartphones. The industry has seen its growth slow in recent years, hurt by major carriers rolling out better phones and more flexible payment plans.

"We think there's good demand for high-end devices like the iPhone in the prepaid market," Sprint Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said. "There's a misperception that the prepaid market is only for people that are economically challenged. That's not the case. Our expectation, based on preorders, is that the iPhone will do very well on Virgin."

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