Smartphone startup Letv plans 1500 stores

Chinese mobile phone retailer D.Phone is expanding its offerings with a new CNY2 billion (US$305.5 million) deal with online video provider and newly minted smartphone company Letv.

D.Phone will add up to 1500 Letv ecosystem experience stores into its retail outlets.

The deal covers Letv’s second-generation super phones, mobile TV services, membership promotions, ecosystem experience stores and customer service.

Under the deal, D.Phone will this year sell one million Letv super phones, 200,000 Letv super TVs and 200,000 Letv memberships.  From now until the end of next month, the two parties will jointly host the offline debut of Letv’s second-generation super phones.

Letv, which runs a streaming video website, has officially rolled out its second-generation super phones, ranging in price from CNY1099 to CNY2499.

Letv mobile president Feng Xing says the strategic co-operation represents an important expansion of Letv’s offline retail channel. Letv has previously signed deals with China Unicom and JD.com.