Electricals and mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse (CPW) is considering the sale of its French retail arm as it reviews its business strategy, it is understood.
CPW‘s Phone House business has “already attracted several expressions of interest”, according to the Financial Times which stated that the retailer operates from around 250 stores with an annual turnover of approximately €300 million (£260 million).
Half owned by US electricals retailer Best Buy, Phone House has attracted interest from domestic retailers and rival telecoms companies though a final decision on the potential sale will be postponed until a completion of the review at the end of next month, it is believed.
The mobile phone market is becoming increasingly competitive, particularly following the introduction of 4G and the rebranding of firm Everything Everywhere as EE at the end of last year.
The French market is especially challenging given the difficult trading conditions in the country and earlier this week, France Telecom announced that average revenue per user had declined 10 per cent over 2012 with further falls expected this year.
However, last month CPW revealed a 16 per cent jump in UK like-for-like (LFL) sales over its third quarter while its European operations saw LFL sales rise 7.8 per cent, buoyed by the strength of UK sales.
CPW was unable for comment.
