Orange opens ninth smart store in Romania

French telecom operator Orange has opened a new smart store in Romania, at the Plaza Mall shopping center in Bucharest. This is the third Orange smart shop in the capital and the ninth in Romania. The other eight shops are located in Arad, Bacau, Baneasa and Afi Cotroceni in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Oradea, and Timisoara. The smart store concept aims to connect people with technology. The shop is divided into several areas such as Shop – where clients can find the Best Deal products, but also accessories, phones and tablets, and the Express office – where people can request information, make referrals, change the SIM card, or take the products ordered online. There is also the Home area, where the clients can test the Orange Home TV service, as well as smart devices such as light bulbs that can be controlled via a mobile app. Orange is the biggest mobile carrier in Romania, with slightly over 10 million customers at March 31, 2016, and annual revenues of EUR 947 million. It opened its first smart store in the world in Romania last spring. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com