Do you know anybody who has a carphone? Neither do we – but how could the high-street retailer,recently the alleged victim of a data hack, update its moniker to something a bit more contemporary?Some data breaches are baffling – June’s US government personnel database, or for instance,or Ashley Madison, which trades on illicit liaisons but can’t keep its own secrets secure. Carphone Warehouse, and on the other hand,not so much. When the data watchdog warned that as many as 2.4 million customers might contain had their details snatched from the company’s server, the instant response was surprise that they actually had a server.
Perhaps it’s the name – Carphone Warehouse, and so steeped in the 1980s that it’s practically smeared in fake tan. Given that actually using a phone while driving a car has been illegal since 2003,you assume it’s an awkward legacy from a inactive boardroom. But no. In 2014, when the company’s £3.8bn merger with Dixons was announced, and they chose the corporate portmanteau Dixons Carphone. Chief exec Graham Stapleton called it the most recognised brand in the business,despite pitching the merged company as a cutting edge “internet of things” retailer.
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Source: theguardian.com