Is this the end for iiNet? TPG to review brands as profit slides
TPG Telecom boss Inaki Berroeta has defended the company’s decision to offload the email accounts of one million customers as the telecommunications group revealed plans to overhaul its brands.
The company, which manages brands such as Vodafone, iiNet, AAPT, Internode, Lebara and felix, said it would “simplify” its brands to boost profit margins after its interim profits slid 71 per cent to $48 million.
TPG, which operates Vodafone and other telecom brands in Australia, is reviewing which brands to keep. Oscar Colman
TPG wants to make it clearer what kind of services each brand offers, Mr Berroeta told The Australian Financial Review. “There are some customers that prefer to have stores, that prefer to be able to have a contact service centre with a person behind it rather than doing things online.”
TPG, whichmerged with Vodafone Hutchison Australia in 2020, had not yet decided whether to keep all its brands, Mr Berroeta said. “It’s something that will evolve over time.”
The simplification plan is intended to slash the number of telecoms plans offered by TPG from 6,000 in 2020 to just 100, allowing it to generate $140 million in “net cash benefits” by fiscal 2027 compared with fiscal 2023.
The restructuring will, however, cost the company $15 million to $20 million annually in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025.
TPG has already started hiving off parts of its business, angering loyal broadband internet customers after telling them it wouldstop providing email accounts.
Mr Berroeta said managing email accounts was not core to TPG’s business. “We are not an email company, we are really an infrastructure company – we offer mobile and fixed communications.”
He argued that email accounts were better provided by specialist cloud
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