Optus to take control of entire retail network
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The news: Optus will take direct control of all of its stores across Australia, according to media reports, following 12 months of controversy which saw it fined $100 million for selling services to vulnerable people and a triple-zero outage that has been linked to the deaths of two people.
The numbers: Channel News, which first reported the news, said Optus’ decision to take full ownership of its franchised retail store network was made to reduce franchise complexity and make the carrier more attractive as an acquisition target.
The Singaporean owner of Optus, Singtel, did not respond to AFR queries on Thursday about whether the store buyback is part of a plan to prepare the company for a potential sale.
Optus told the AFR about 80 of its 240 stores were being run by franchisees, who were informed of the changes in December. In 2025 the carrier said it would buy back 34 Optus licensee stores in the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia as part of undertakings it made to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which handed down the $100 million penalty for Optus’ unconscionable sales conduct.
Bringing stores in-house will improve accountability and transparency and create “a consistent approach to systems and processes,” said Optus chief customer officer Anthony Shiner said.
The sources: Channel News, AFR
