Carphone Warehouse seeks talent to prepare for Best Buy debut

The mobile phone retailer wants to fill 14 senior level vacancies as it develops strategic sourcing and better buying initiatives with joint venture partner Best Buy.

It is also strengthening its product development and private-label expertise as it expands its own-label accessories ranges in Carphone Warehouse stores across Europe.

The new team will also be involved in the roll-out of Carphone Warehouse’s wireless warehouse store formats. The retailer is to roll out 40 such stores this year, which house a wider array of connectivity products alongside Carphone Warehouse’s traditional mobile phone range. The next wireless warehouse stores will open in June and will include a 1,500 sq ft store on Richmond High Street, London. It will also trial the format in Spain later this year.

Carphone Warehouse chief commercial operator Graham Stapleton said that he was “bringing in new skills that further underpin the success that we have had”.

Stapleton took up his role after the departure of UK trading director George Dymond in January.

As well as heading the UK commercial operations and purchasing for the other eight countries in which Carphone Warehouse operates, Stapleton is responsible for the purchasing of laptops, phones, accessories and private-label products.

When Best Buy opens its big-box formats in Europe – it plans to open five stores in the first quarter of next year – Stapleton’s team will also support the development of Best Buy’s private label.

“What we have looked at is what best practice is there within the two organisations that we can share,” said Stapleton.

Carphone Warehouse last week announced that connections at its European retail operations grew by a robust 12 per cent in its fourth quarter.