Tom Cox and Richie Austin both became franchise partners in 2019 and have since expanded to multiple locations across their local regions. From culture to engagement, they reveal how they’ve kept business ticking along over the years.
Following the merger between Vodafone and Three in June 2025, VodafoneThree remains committed to retaining a presence on the Great British high street. In doing so, the brand aims to create the best retail experience possible.
To find out how frontline teams will play a role in meeting this ambition, we spoke to two current franchisees about their journeys so far.
Tell us about your journey into franchising
Tom Cox: I’ve been in telecoms for the past 18 years, starting as a Manager before eventually progressing to Senior Store Manager. I had loads of opportunities to cover for Regional Managers, so I was fortunate to learn a lot.
This really helped when I made the decision to apply for a franchise. I felt it would be great for me – running my own business but being fully supported by a global brand.
Richie Austin: I’ve been in telecoms for most of my career. Having worked my way from part-time sales into store management, and eventually General Manager roles within a franchise environment, becoming a franchise partner felt like the natural next step.
The opportunity was there to: build something of my own; develop people; and really see the impact of the decisions we were making every day.
How many stores do you have?
Tom: I grew my business slowly, starting in 2019, and now have 7 stores: Harlow; Clacton; Basildon; Bishop Stortford; Colchester; Braintree; and Chelmsford.
Richie: I became a franchise partner in 2019, starting with Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, then adding Telford a few months later. Since then, we’ve grown to 13 stores across North Wales, the West Midlands and Staffordshire.
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How is your team set up?
Tom: I’ve got six Store Managers, with one covering two locations, and I’ve got an Ops Manager who I’ve known for many years, who is in stores five days per week, supporting, coaching and helping develop the teams.
Each of my stores also has an Assistant Store Manager, as I understand the importance of having a really solid structure in place.
Richie: We’ve got a strong leadership team; Ben is our General Manager and my number two, with Tom and Neil as Regional Managers. Ben is in stores five days a week, which really sets the tone for how hands on we are.
How would you describe yourself as a franchise owner?
Tom: I consider myself to be very hands on and I like being really present and visible with my teams, spending at least four days in stores.
Richie: Being visible and present really matters to me. A typical week starts with a leadership planning meeting on Monday and a managers call on Tuesday. The rest of the week, I’m in stores – watching, listening and coaching teams and managers on the floor.
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Tell us about the culture you’ve created.
Tom: I believe in putting customers first. We’ve got an open team and we’re very strong on gender diversity, with a 60/40 split that also applies to managers.
My main focus is on relationship building. Looking after people is essential – it leads to: increased productivity; higher employee retention; improved morale; better customer service; and, ultimately, greater profitability.
Richie: Culture is everything for us. Our mission is to create a truly engaged team that delivers for customers and each other.
We work hard to build a family mentality where everyone has everyone else’s back, and success is shared. You see that in the way teams help each other because, when one store wins, everyone wins.
How do you keep your team engaged?
Tom: We celebrate recognition, birthdays and lots more within our monthly newsletter, while our Store Managers usually get together once a quarter for some team engagement.
We also have a Christmas party for the whole team where they each receive a small gift as a thank you and we share our annual award winners.
This year, all of our Store Managers were trained on mental health wellbeing, plus we run a number of ad hoc incentives and team activities.
Richie: Communication is key. We use a system called Blink every day for morning briefs, shout outs, birthday or tenure messages, and to celebrate wins.
We also run a lot of incentives – from Champions League-style competitions to ad hoc rewards like trade-in incentives, Christmas challenges and simple things like pizza when a store smashes its targets.
We also bring people together whenever we can. We hold quarterly managers meetings, development days focused on leadership, and social events.
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