Executive summary The Lebara Group was founded in 2001. Lebara generates annual sales in excess of Ä371 million operating as a provider of international wholesale minutes and as a virtual mobile operator (MVNO). In May 2010 it acquired the ëChippieí brand and customer base in the Netherlands. In a press release Lebara said it would retain the Chippie name in the Netherlands, which is designed to address migrant communities with friends and family in North and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. Like the groups own Dutch MVNO Lebara Mobile, Chippie piggybacks its services on KPNís network. The following industry recognitions have been awarded to Lebara: Innovative Service in the 2009 | Weaknesses * Promotions are not competitive enough compared to other networks * Systems are under developed * Constant system failure | Opportunities * Hassle free international calling system * First MVNO company introducing contracts for calling national and international numbers * Introduction of “lebara money card” | Threats * Competitors offering free handsets with contracts * Competitors offering worldwide top-ups * Competitors offering low cost national minutes and texts. |
Strengths: according to the Mobile News Awards, Lebara is ranked as the best MVNO Company in the UK providing the Best customer service. The judges said that Lebara was ‘well-branded, promoted and priced’ and that a ‘strong promotional campaign helped it stand out from the crowd’ (http://www.telecompaper.com/news/lebara-wins-mobile-news-best-mvno-award). Lebara’s majority customer base is ethnic minority. Their aim is to be closer to their customers so they can be closer to their loved ones. In order to live up to their aim, the company established the first MVNO in the UK with a multi-lingual London based call centre. Initially this increased the company’s customer base as they felt their needs, wants, queries and complaints where dealt with at a
