First signs of Cosmote-Romtelecom merger: six integrated stores ready for launch

Telecom operators Romtelecom and Cosmote, part of the Greek group OTE, have announced that starting this month they will inaugurate their first six integrated stores in Bucharest, Targoviste, Sibiu and Bacau.

The Romanian state, via the Ministry of Communications, has recently agreed with OTE’s proposal for a Romtelecom-Cosmote merger. The two companies have been using their synergies to launch common offers of services, but this may be the first concrete steps towards this merger.

The offer of products in the integrated stores will include mobile and landline phones, accessories, laptops and netbooks. They will also offer a higher degree of interactivity, having multimedia areas for testing each type of service- mobile and landline telephony as well as internet and television.

“Over the last years, our efforts have been focused significantly in this direction, from new services and products to the support granted to clients. Such an example is the concept launched last year in four of the company’s stores when we tried to offer our clients a totally new perspective when entering the store of a telecom operator, via a higher level of interactivity in the available multimedia and testing areas,” according to Ovidiu Ghiman, executive manager of the Strategy and Residential Commercial sector in Romtelecom.

Cosmote representative Panos Makris, the manager of the commercial division, said: “one of the priorities in 2011 is to improve our network of sales” and that the launch of the new stores with Romtelecom is one of the first steps.

Romtelecom has over 350 points of sale nationally as well as targeting its clients through its own sales network, and collaborations with Cosmote and Germanos.

Cosmote Romania has a GSM network of approximately 640 stores all over the country, which includes 270 Cosmote stores, common stores with Romtelecom and Germanos stores.

Otilia Haraga