Strategy Presentation
Vodafone Group Plc
24 October 2002
24 October 2002
'STRATEGY INTO REALITY' PRESENTATION
LAUNCH OF VODAFONE LIVE!
LAUNCH OF VODAFONE MOBILE OFFICE
Vodafone Group Plc ('Vodafone') today announces in a presentation* to financial
analysts and media how Vodafone is positioning the organisation to deliver
growth in the next stage of its strategic development through the launch of it's
consumer offering, Vodafone live!, and it's business offering, Vodafone Mobile
Office.
Vodafone live!, Vodafone's consumer proposition, is now being launched in
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK, with
Australia, Greece and New Zealand to follow in the New Year. Vodafone live!
brings a new world of colour, sound and pictures to Vodafone's customers through
an easy to use colour menu, accessed from integrated camera phones. Wherever
and whenever they wish customers will be able to take and send picture messages,
download and play the latest mobile games and polyphonic ringtones, send and
receive voice, text and e-mails, explore instant chat with friends and get the
information they want. Vodafone live! will deliver an increasing range of
mobile services to Vodafone customers.
Vodafone's business proposition is Vodafone Mobile Office. This will deliver a
portfolio of services designed for today's global and mobile business
environment. Vodafone Mobile Office's first product, Vodafone Remote Access,
will be available from November. This will enable customers to remote access
their corporate LAN wherever they are. It will provide an end-to-end solution
between a remote laptop or PDA and a secure LAN in an easy to use way. The
service will be marketed and sold through Vodafone's direct sales organisation.
Both customer propositions demonstrate how Vodafone is creating service
differentiation by delivering easy to use services through its customer focused
marketing. Vodafone believes it is in an excellent position to deliver this
market approach through its scale and scope, bringing together its networks,
relationships with manufacturers, its technology platforms and its global brand.
Vodafone's consumer and business propositions lay the foundations for Vodafone's
next stage of growth. All data services will be accessed initially over 2.5G
and, after launch, on Vodafone's 3G networks. 3G networks and devices will
allow Vodafone to deliver more and faster services, through Vodafone live! and
Vodafone Mobile Office.
Thomas Geitner, Chief Executive Global Products and Services, commented: 'As a
result of these initiatives, I believe that we are better positioned than ever
to fulfil our vision of making Vodafone the world's leading mobile brand - a
brand offering complete service delivery to our customers.'
Sir Christopher Gent, Chief Executive added: 'Vodafone is changing the mobile
market. Customers are not interested in buying the underlying technology of
mobile services. They want applications, services and content that are
affordable and easy to use.
'In Vodafone live! and Vodafone Mobile Office, we have created not only a range
of value added services that will enrich our customers' lives, but also the
foundations for the next stage in Vodafone's strategic development.'
For further information:
Vodafone Group Plc
Tim Brown, Group Corporate Affairs Director
Melissa Stimpson, Director of Group Investor Relations
Bobby Leach, Head of Group Financial Media Relations
Darren Jones, Senior Investor Relations Manager
John Earl, Senior Group Communications Manager
Janine Young, Group Communications Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 1635 673310
Tavistock Communications
Lulu Bridges/John West
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7600 2288
Notes to Editors:
Vodafone Strategy
In 1997, Vodafone established a strategy aimed at achieving global leadership in
the field of mobile telecommunication services, and consequent sustained
competitive advantage intended to achieve enhanced long term returns for its
shareholders. That initial strategy was based upon a growth plan of three
elements: accelerated customer growth; geographic expansion and new service
development.
Eighteen months ago, Vodafone realigned its strategy, following a period of
strong customer growth and to reflect both the development of the industry and
the progress the business had made:
• Creating revenue growth through increased marketing focus on
Vodafone's established high quality customer base
• No longer expanding into new geographic markets but using Vodafone's
established scale and scope to extend the financial and commercial
benefits of operational leadership
• Extending Vodafone's service differentiation by investing in, and
delivering, a Vodafone branded, easy to use, customer service
proposition
Improved marketing to Vodafone's customer base is now a key business driver.
Vodafone's entire organisational approach is focused on customers and the
applications they want to use. To this end, Vodafone has conducted extensive
research to determine what services customers require and how they want them
delivered. As a result, Vodafone has created fully branded, easy to use,
customer service propositions. Vodafone's approach means that customers can now
access services through easy to use Vodafone branded menus.
To achieve this, Vodafone has worked much more closely with its suppliers to
implement what customers want. It has built global technology platforms which
seamlessly deliver services to its customers and it has created a global brand,
which it believes will engender trust and customer loyalty and a significant
service differentiation in the market.
* The slides from this presentation are available from:
www.vodafone.com/investor/presentations_other.htm
For further consumer based information about Vodafone live! call the Vodafone UK
Press Office on: 07000 500 100 or visit www.vodafone.co.uk/live
Cautionary Statement regarding forward-looking statements
This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of
the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the
Group's financial condition, results of operations and businesses and certain of
the Group's plans and objectives with respect to these items.
In particular, forward-looking statements include statements with respect to
Vodafone's expectations as to field trialling, launch and roll-out dates for
products and services, including 3G services and Vodafone live! and Vodafone
Office, the ability to integrate our operations, including the implementation of
Vodafone live! and Vodafone Office throughout the Group in the same format and
on the same technical platform, the development and impact of new mobile
technology, including the expected benefits of GPRS, 3G and other services and
demand for such services, the completion of Vodafone's brand migration
programme, growth in customers and usage, including improvements in customer
mix, mobile penetration rates, future performance, expectations with respect to
long-term shareholder value growth, overall market trends and other trend
projections.
Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their
use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', '
could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', '
goal' or 'estimates'.
By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently predictive,
speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and
depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.
There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to: greater than anticipated competitive
activity requiring changes in pricing models and/or new product offerings or
resulting in higher costs of acquiring new customers or providing new services,
or slower customer growth or reduced customer retention; the possibility that
technologies, including mobile internet platforms, and services, including 3G
services, will not perform according to expectations or that vendors'
performance will not meet the Group's requirements; lower than expected impact
of GPRS, 3G and Vodafone live! and Vodafone Office on the Group's future
revenues, cost structure and capital expenditure outlays; the ability of the
Group to offer new services and secure the timely delivery of high-quality,
reliable GPRS and 3G handsets, network equipment and other key products from
suppliers and greater than anticipated prices of new mobile handsets; the
Group's ability to develop competitive data content and services which will
attract new customers and increase average usage; the Group's ability to realize
expected synergies and benefits associated with 3G technologies, the integration
of our operations and those of recently acquired companies, the completion of
the Group's brand migration programme and the consolidation of IT systems;
future revenue contributions of both voice and non-voice services offered by the
Group; the ability of the Group to harmonise mobile platforms and any delays,
impediments or other problems associated with the roll-out and scope of 3G
technology and services and Vodafone live! and Vodafone Office in new markets;
and the possibility that new, unexpected strategic opportunities may arise in
the next two to three years, the pursuit of which could be in the best interests
of Vodafone's shareholders and that future acquisitions we believe to be in the
best interests of Vodafone's shareholders may have a negative short or
medium-term impact on one or more of the measurements of our financial
performance.
Furthermore, a review of the reasons why actual results and developments may
differ materially from the expectations disclosed or implied within
forward-looking statements can be found under 'Risk Factors' on pages 29 and 30
of Vodafone's Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F for the year ended 31 March
2002. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to
the Company or any member of the Group or any persons acting on their behalf are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. Neither
Vodafone nor any of its affiliates intends to update these forward-looking
statements.
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