New Orange IOW store creates local jobs

• New Orange store opens in Newport creating five jobs for the local area.
• Isle of Wight store expected to capitalise on estimated 68,424 mobile phone customers in the area.
• Councillor Mike Cunningham welcomes Orange’s investment in Newport and the IOW.

The first ever Orange store on the Isle of Wight will ‘officially’ open on Saturday 16th May – creating five new jobs for Island residents.

The new flagship store means Orange customers on the Isle of Wight no longer need to travel across the water to Southampton or Portsmouth to visit an Orange shop for all their mobile and broadband needs. To celebrate the official opening, Orange will give away an IPod Shuffle to the first 20 customers who sign up to any Pay Monthly (PAYM) contract as part of the official opening celebrations on the 16th.

The opening is a welcome boost to the Islands economy. Councillor Mike Cunningham went along to meet the new employees and experience the new addition to Newport’s High Street. The shop sits in a hundred year old building, and whilst retaining its original features on the outside, the décor inside is reflective of Orange’s modern and innovative approach to customer service.

Cllr Cunningham said: “It is very encouraging to see new shops opening in Newport during the downturn, and even more encouraging that they are creating jobs for Island residents. Newport will benefit greatly from this Orange store, and I hope it encourages other retailers to follow suit and come to the Island.”

Tony Brown, Orange manager on the Isle of Wight, is excited about what the new store can offer residents. He said: “Up until now, islanders have been travelling over to the mainland to visit an Orange store which can be time consuming and costly. The new store in Newport means Orange is even more accessible to residents, and we’re looking forward to providing them with an extensive range of mobile and broadband products.”

Orange is investing heavily in its retail network, opening more than 60 new stores in 2009 and refurbishing more than 100, all of which will take on the new flagship format on display in the Isle of Wight.

The features of the flagship format stores include private consultation areas for customers, with PCs and screens to connect people to the information they need, and modernised displays making it easier for consumers to browse and view the products on show.

To find out more about what’s available from Orange or see the team at the Orange Shop, High Street, Newport or visit the online store at shop.orange.co.uk

ENDS

For more information about the new Orange store in Newport, please contact: Adam Vincenzini Paratus reMnet Tel: 020 7404 6691 Mob: 07932 082 124

About Orange

Orange is the key brand of the France Telecom Group, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. With 123 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates.

At the end of 2008, France Telecom had consolidated sales of 53.5 billion euros (12.7 billion euros for the first quarter of 2009) and at 29 April 2009, the Group had a customer base of almost 184 million customers in 30 countries. These include 123 million mobile customers worldwide and 13 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers in Europe. Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population. At the end of March 2009, Orange had almost 17 million customers in the UK – 15.8 million active mobile customers and close to one million fixed broadband customers.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited.

For more information: www.orange.com, www.francetelecom.com, www.orange-business.com

For further information, call the Orange press office on 0870 373 1500 or email: Orangepr@golinharris.com.