Utility Warehouse

Utility Warehouse
Brand Name
Industry Public utility
Founded 2002
Headquarters Hendon
Products
Parent Telecom Plus PLC
Website Utility Warehouse

Utility Warehouse is a multi-utility provider based in London, England. It is the brand name for its parent company, Telecom Plus,[1] with Utility Warehouse operating as a separate brand.[2] It currently handles over 600,000 customer accounts with the help of over 40,000 independent distributors. Utility Warehouse supplies customers with landline telephony, mobile telephony, broadband, gas, and electricity.[3] The Utility Warehouse brand is the primary engine of revenue generation for Telecom Plus.[2]

History

The Utility Warehouse brand has been linked to Telecom Plus since 2002 when Telecom Plus launched it as a single brand to encompass all of the company's residential services. Since then, Utility Warehouse has been the operating brand for all of Telecom Plus's residential energy, telephony and broadband offerings.[4]

In 2006, Utility Warehouse and Telecom Plus entered into an agreement with npower that tasked npower with supplying energy (gas and electricity) to Utility Warehouse customers.[2] Utility Warehouse essentially sold two subsidiaries (Electricity Plus and Gas Plus) to npower. In 2013, however, npower sold the two former Telecom Plus subsidiaries back to Utility Warehouse for £218 million.[5] As a result, Utility Warehouse became one of the largest independent energy suppliers in the UK[2][5] with over 500,000 customers and 770,000 gas and electricity supply points to their name.[3] The deal also sparked commentary about the possibility of npower's parent company RWE leaving the UK, or the emergence of a "Big Seven" in place of the existing Big Six Energy Suppliers.[1][2][6]

Operation

Utility Warehouse operates as part of the Telecom Plus holding company. It employs a multi-level marketing model that utilizes independent distributors to obtain new customers. Distributors introduce both residential and business customers.[4] The Utility Warehouse headquarters is in North London.[7]

Finishing in joint fourth place in the Which? Utility customer survey,[8] Utility Warehouse is reported to have clear billing and reasonable customer service.

Because Utility Warehouse does not operate shops or engage in advertising, they rely entirely on word-of-mouth referrals from their existing customers and commission-based marketers.[4][7] Utility Warehouse supplies gas, electricity, broadband, mobile and landline telephony.[3] Their telephony and energy services are often bundled to theoretically reduce costs for customers.[5] The company sets their own tariffs and provides customer service for each of their customers.[2]

A 2009 article by The Guardian reported that Telecom Plus's rates were generally average, and as much as 20% higher than the best deals.[9]

Marketing

Utility Warehouse has no shops and does not advertise on television or in the national press. The company has focused on word-of-mouth as a primary means of promotion, and offers bonuses to distributors who recruit new customers and distributors. Distributors gain a commission from both their own customers, and their distributor's customers, making Telecom Plus a multi-level marketing company. There is a £100 joining cost to become a distributor (reduced to £50 if they become, or already are a customer).[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Npower sells some subsidiaries to Telecom Plus for £218m". BBC. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gosden, Emily (20 November 2013). "Utility Warehouse buys 770,000 customer accounts from npower in £218m deal". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Macalister, Terry; Jennifer Rankin (20 November 2013). "RWE npower supply sale raises fears over UK withdrawal". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Tieman, Ross (13 March 2009). "Company of the Year: Telecom Plus". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Chazan, Guy (20 November 2013). "Telecom Plus deal to challenge big six UK energy suppliers". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Gosden, Emily (20 November 2013). "Energy challenger Telecom Plus leaps to Big Six's defence". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  7. 1 2 Stafford, Philip (29 March 2009). "Telecom Plus boosted by word-of-mouth support". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  8. ↑ http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/small-energy-companies/utility-warehouse
  9. 1 2 Jones, Rupert (4 December 2009). "Utility Warehouse under the spotlight". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
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