Dixons Carphone has sold its stake in the joint venture with US firm Sprint to focus on the roll out of its Honeybee digital software.

The joint venture – part of the electricals giant’s Connected World Services (CWS) division – involved Dixons Carphone managing a number of Sprint-branded stores in the US and providing consultancy services.

In a statement today, the retailer said that “in light of the changing US mobile market landscape and Sprint’s review of its own distribution strategy,” Sprint will acquire Dixons Carphone’s 50% share of the distribution joint venture.

Focus on Honeybee

The electricals retailer will instead ramp up its focus on rolling out Honeybee – another part of the CWS division that is aimed at streamlining the in-store shopping experience – across the entire Sprint estate.

Read more: What is Honeybee? 

Dixons Carphone deputy group chief executive Andrew Harrison said: “We have enjoyed working with Sprint to accelerate their store opening programme over the last two years and have developed an estate and a pipeline to help support their ambitious growth plans.

“With the significant shift in the US mobile market, now is the right time to transfer these stores to Sprint, and to concentrate on our exciting software business, Honeybee.”

Sprint president of omnichannel sales and service, Kevin Crull, said: “We thank Dixons Carphone, an innovative, world-class operator, for helping accelerate our retail transformation through this partnership.”