Retailers angered by cut in Vodafone profit margins

The retailers’ body RGDATA has lodged a formal complaint with the Competition Authority following Vodafone’s decision to cut retailer profit margins on its electronic top-up facility for mobile phones.

RGDATA said the mobile phone giant gave retailers little or no warning about its plans to reduce the margin on electronic top-ups from 10% to 6.5%, representing a 30% fall in profits for shopkeepers.

The measure comes into force today. Ailish Forde, the director general of RGDATA, said: “This is a huge reduction in margins, particularly when a year ago, they enticed retailers to go the electronic top-up route as opposed to the physical cards route in order to protect their margins,” she said.