Permanent closure of O2 retail store tomorrow (Monday) - Cowley, Oxford

[Oxonian]

I was told by an acquaintance this morning that at 4.00pm tomorrow (Monday), this O2 retail store will close permanently :-

Cowley | O2 Store

https://stores.o2.co.uk/o2-store-cowley

Apparently, the staff are being dealt with by a combination of redundancy and redeployment to other O2 retail stores. 

In terms of distance, the nearest O2 retail stores to Cowley are Oxford city centre, Didcot, Aylesbury and Banbury. 

[madasaf1sh]

@Oxonian 

No point keeping stores open for the sake of it, and the store is obviously not hitting targets... and rationalisation of the retail estate and with a store less than 3 miles away, it makes sense..

[Enlli]

Many, but not all, of the stores being closed are franchises.

O2 recently announced the move away from the franchise model.

[madasaf1sh]

They announced it back in September 2022. but because of the contracts etc in place the closures are gathering steam.. 

https://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/News/article/o2-closes-franchise-business-stores-programme

Wouldnt surprise me if one of the ones in Sheffield closes as it never has any stock of phones in branch

[Oxonian]

@madasaf1sh 

I fully agree and I can see why rationalisation is taking place. However, it is a shame when any O2 retail store closes - or a retail store of any MNO - as they can be a useful resource for customers.

I always felt that when the "gurus" left the O2 retail stores several years ago, that seemed to signal them becoming less of a Customer Service orientation operation and more of a hard-nosed sales' operation.