musicMagpie launches rental service for businesses

RNS Number : 0857E

musicMagpie plc

26 October 2022

 

26 October 2022

musicMagpie plc

("musicMagpie", or "the Group")

MUSICMAGPIE LAUNCHES APPLE DEVICE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE FOR BUSINESSES

STAGECOACH TO BE THE FIRST MAJOR CUSTOMER

Launch of corporate subscription service within the Group's B2B offering 'musicMagpie Circular'

Circular economy pioneer, musicMagpie, announces the launch of its corporate device subscription service, thus extending its 'musicMagpie Circular' offering. The subscription service allows businesses to rent and manage Apple iPhones and iPads for a low monthly subscription, starting from £13 per month.

The service provides several benefits in that it both saves companies time and money, in addition to supporting their ESG goals by enabling the use of devices in a much more sustainable way. Renting a device ensures that it is returned to musicMagpie when it is no longer needed, significantly extending the lifespan of the device and its parts.

A standard subscription term is 24 months and includes an extended warranty, on-line management tools as well as a range of tailored support services. At the end of the term, the devices can be renewed, upgraded to the latest technology, or returned.

musicMagpie is partnering with the sustainability focused IT managed services provider, Utelize Mobile, on its musicMagpie Circular subscription and recycling services. Through the partnership, customers are provided with an easy-to-use online portal and support function, which ensures the simplified management of a device through its entire lifecycle. This removes the traditional challenges that IT teams face by streamlining processes and increasing productivity.

Stagecoach announced as the first major corporate subscription customer

musicMagpie is also announcing today that Stagecoach is the first major customer of the B2B subscription service, which will build on the Group's current 'musicMagpie Circular' partnerships with Deloitte and Zurich, who are current customers of musicMagpie's corporate recycling programme. The Stagecoach partnership will see the deployment of fully pre-configured and supported iPads to Stagecoach's extensive network of bus engineers, helping to provide engineers with the latest technology in a sustainable manner and at a cost effective price.

'musicMagpie Circular' is managed by musicMagpie's Matt Harrison, who joined the business from Asda as Chief Development and Partnership Officer in May 2022. Matt said:

" The economic environment facing consumers and businesses alike is increasingly tough and the issues of affordability and cash-flow constraints are being felt by many. Against this backdrop, our proposition of giving businesses a way to lower their upfront device investment costs through a monthly subscription, whilst also contributing to the circular economy, becomes increasingly attractive. With our consumer rental offering having grown to over 24,000 active subscribers at May 2022 and with Stagecoach already signed up as one of our first major corporate customers, we're confident that it will prove to be a popular service for businesses who can now reap the rewards of renting too."

Matt Atkinson, Managing Director of Utelize, said:

"This exciting new partnership has been specifically designed to address the long-established issues that many business IT teams encounter when providing corporate smartphones and tablets to their users. Uniquely, this service joins up all elements of the device lifecycle from initial sourcing and deployment through to in-life management, and ultimately includes secure data wiping and recycling. All of this is accessed via an easy-to-use online portal and is available for a simple low cost monthly subscription. The service will help businesses to release IT resources and budget, reduce IT e-waste, and provide users with the Apple technology and support they need to work productively."

In July 2022, musicMagpie secured a new three-year £30m revolving credit facility with HSBC UK and NatWest, to help drive future rental growth including the corporate subscription service.

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Enquiries

musicMagpie plc Steve Oliver, CEO Ian Storey, COO	Tel: [phone]
Matthew Fowler, CFO
Powerscourt (Financial Public Relations) Rob Greening Genevieve Ryan Sam Austrums	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

About musicMagpie plc

Operating through two trusted brands - musicMagpie in the UK and decluttr in the US - musicMagpie's core strategy is simple: to provide consumers with a smart, sustainable and trusted way to buy, rent and sell refurbished consumer technology and physical media products with sustainability running to the very heart of its operations. Founded in 2007, the Group has an established presence in the UK, with operations in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and in the US in Atlanta, Georgia.

musicMagpie has a strong environmental and social focus, as demonstrated by its trademarked 'smart for you, smart for the planet' ethos. Over 400,000 consumer technology products were resold in FY21. In addition, the Group re-sells approximately 2,500 tonnes of books and disc media each year that could have ended up as waste. During 2021, musicMagpie's UK consumer tech and disc media customers, along with its trade partners, helped to save over 50,000 tonnes of CO ²  by buying, selling and renting with the Group - an amount equivalent to providing heating for over 18,000 homes. The Group has been given the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark in recognition of its contribution to the global green economy.

When selling to musicMagpie, the customer is offered a fixed valuation via the website, provided with free logistics to ship the products and (subject to it being 'as described') receives payment for their product on the day of arrival at the Group's warehouse. The Group also recently partnered with Asda to give customers the option of using its SMARTdrop Kiosks in store for a fast and easy way to recycle phones for instant cash. Customers purchasing from musicMagpie receive branded refurbished product for a fraction of the price of buying new.

The Group has the highest number of seller reviews on both Amazon and eBay and has consistently achieved extremely positive feedback scores. The Group also has a 4.5* rating on UK Trustpilot with over 230,000 reviews.  

For further information please visit :   www.musicmagpieplc.com

About Utelize Communications LTD

Utelize are a fast-growing, sustainability focused Mobile Technology Provider based in the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire. Utelize develops software and managed services that help Enterprise customers to reduce unnecessary IT investment and to streamline the management of mobile phones, tablets and connectivity. Helping large businesses to save money, reduce their carbon footprint and release IT resources to tackle genuinely transformative projects.

For further information please visit:  www.utelize.co.uk

 

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