Vodafone Idea (Vi) has set up 50 new retail stores in rural Tamil Nadu. The third-largest telecom operator in the country is trying to add as many subscribers as possible to boost revenues. The new stores in Tamil Nadu is to boost the presence of the brand in the rural community. The company is also opening Vi stores in other states. Since the launch of the brand, this has been the most significant retail expansion activity undertaken by Vi. The telco is opening around 300 new stores in several states, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. According to a statement from the company, the new shops will be set up in Illupur, Palani, Usilampatti, Nagapattinam, Arakkonam, Thiruvallur, Ariyalur and others. This will enable the customers of the telco in quickly being able to communicate with the personnel of the company. The new stores are to drive engagement between the customers and the company in rural India. Abhijit Kishore, COO of Vodafone Idea, said that there is still a large segment of customers in rural India who would prefer the familiarity and comfort of the face-to-face service through the physical retail format. In the recent quarterly results for Q2 FY23, Vi announced that it had again lost several million customers from its subscriber base. While the telco reported that its revenues were improving, the loss widened. One positive for Vi was the increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) figure. The higher the ARPU, the better it will be for the telco, especially when it is losing customers fast. Vodafone Idea aims to reach the Rs 200 ARPU figure in the short term, but at present, its ARPU stands at Rs 131, which is very far from the target. Even with another tariff hike, it may be difficult for the company to reach that figure in the short term.
