Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group, the largest retail chain brand in India, announced the launch of T24, a GSM-based mobile telephonic service, in an alliance with Tata Teleservices, the fastest growing telecom service provider in India.
Under the agreement, understood to be a Biyani initiative, Future Group will sell TTSL GSM connections under T24 brand to consumers that visit its retail outlets across all formats and locations (Pantaloons, Big Bazar, Food Bazar and e-Zone).
“The format aims at providing value-added services to our shoppers so that one is able to further the cause of consumer retention. By June 2010, we aim to extend the service across all 330 of Future Group large format stores,” said Mayur Toshniwal, CEO, T24.
T24 will be available solely at Future Group retail outlets, and one could avail of the prepaid card based on shopping points that one is able to accumulate.
The plan is to offer talk-time cross-bundled with other consumption categories.
“Through the alliance, we are looking at increasing our consumer base mostly in urban areas. The idea will be to target housewives and consumers looking at second mobile phone connections. In Bengal specifically, we aim to have a consumer base of 6 lakh by June 2011,” said Sandeep Singal, national head, sales and distribution, Tata Docomo.
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T24 symbolises Talk 24, which would give consumers the double advantage all 24 hours- signifying the brand slogan of “Shop More, Talk More’ and ‘Talk More, Shop More’, Toshniwal said, adding that customers would get shopping benefits for talking, and talk-time benefits each time they shop.
According to Singal, currently India has a teledensity of 57 per cent, which means that there is still a bit of leg room to grow, especially given the fact that the biggest part of the telecom pie consisting data, 3G and voice services is dominated by largely by voice based services.