Analysis: Why the Three brand is likely to meet the same UK fate as the T-Mobile and Orange brands

How can the Vodafone, Three, SMARTY, VOXI, and TalkMobile brands all coexist in harmony? The truth is—they can’t. Duplication will have to go, and some brands won’t make it predicts Graystone Strategy founder and MVNO expert JamesGray

In February, the new leadership team for the Vodafone–Three joint venture was announced.

No surprises there—the successful candidates are weighted in favour of Vodafone, a clear reminder of its 51 per cent stake in the venture.

This is a significant step forward. Months of planning across every function in both businesses are now moving off the drawing board and into operational reality. Every aspect of running a network will be affected. The aim? To rationalise overheads, processes, technology, and infrastructure.

Ultimately, the new ‘MergeCo’ must deliver on its promise: better coverage for consumers and a network that ranks among the world’s best.

True enough. But no large-scale tech transformation and migration comes without risk. Localised outages are a real possibility, and when they happen, they will wake up a sleeping base of consumers. The leadership team knows this—and will be desperate to avoid it.

And here’s where branding becomes a live issue. With Vodafone’s 51 per cent stake and its $32.6bn brand value, tough questions will be asked. How can Vodafone, Three, SMARTY, VOXI, and TalkMobile all coexist in harmony? The truth is—they can’t. Duplication will have to go, and some brands won’t make it.

But consolidating brands is no quick or easy feat. Just look at VMO2, which is still deep in the throes of its own integration. It’s complex, costly, and messy. Merging different tech stacks, customer bases, and deliberately differentiated propositions takes time. And then there’s the culture clash.

If you’re a supplier affected by that merger, and you have contracts with Three or Vodafone, you already know what’s coming. The JV must prove its value to investors—fast. Cutting duplication is one of the clearest ways to do that. There will be winners and losers. And even the winners should brace for cost reviews.

Bottom line: if you haven’t sharpened your pencil to deal with the fallout from supply chain ‘synergies’, now is the time. Revise your contract terms. Make the case for being on the MergeCo’s supplier roster.

This isn’t just about cost savings. It’s about access to expertise and capability. Every large-scale cost-cutting exercise includes redundancies—and when back-office functions are merged, all duplicated roles will come under scrutiny.

Some institutional knowledge will need to be retained to keep integration smooth. But experience tells me logic doesn’t always win out. With the right suppliers in place, it may be possible to remove two roles instead of one—making the job losses even more painful.

Beyond the network, another huge task looms: the retail estate. It makes little sense to keep both a Three and a Vodafone store on the same high street—especially when consumer behaviour is tilting ever more towards digital and SIM-only options.

I’d wager that the leadership team is already questioning the value of maintaining the Three brand at all—especially when it could be dropped in favour of a sub-brand.

Vodafone’s Business unit also carries more influence, arguably more than the consumer division. The leadership team may decide the most straightforward solution is to drop the Three Business brand altogether—consolidating tech, teams, and branding under the Vodafone umbrella.

If that happens, it’ll be a sad day. Three was the fearless new challenger when it launched in 2003. From the sidelines back then, I watched it shake up the status quo. It redefined what it meant to be a mobile operator.

Risk-taking is baked into its DNA, and I hope the JV preserves that spirit. The disruptor ethos still thrives in the Three Business team. They’ve reshaped customer expectations of what an operator can and should be.

Let’s hope that same sparkle finds its way into decision-making across the board. Consumers deserve a good deal from this JV—and a good deal will only come from doing things differently.