Bell Mobility services sold at former Circuit City locations

Bell Mobility began selling its handsets and services in its own retail stores. The Canadian operator last March bought The Source’s 750 retail locations when parent company Circuit City declared bankruptcy, thus preserving about 3,000 jobs in the retail sector, and increasing Bell’s retail presence.
Since the reported $135 million acquisition, The Source remains independently operated. The Source had been selling wireless products from rival Rogers Wireless, but that contract has now expired. As such, The Source started to exclusively sell Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile products and services at selected stores over the weekend and plans to roll out products and services at most locations before the end of the month, the company said. Bell Mobility parent company BCE owns all of Virgin Mobile Canada, buying the 50% it didn’t already own last year for $142 million.
“The Source is excited to move forward as Canada’s largest wireless retailer, providing our customers from coast to coast with access to the latest mobile products and services from Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile and the knowledgeable sales support and dedication of The Source team,” said Ron Cuthbertson, CEO of The Source. The Source has an interesting history in Canada. The profitable chain was acquired by InterTan, a Circuit City company from a Radio Shack subsidiary in 2004, but its future was questionable when parent Circuit City declared bankruptcy.
Canada is expected to see increased wireless competition as newcomer Globalive rolled out its Wind Mobile offering in Calgary and Toronto a few weeks ago, inking an agreement with Blockuster to spur its retail presence quickly.