  carphone warehouse is a mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across europe. it is based in the united kingdom which includes all carphone warehouse stores. outside ireland and the united kingdom, the company trades as phone house. the company's former parent, carphone warehouse group, was listed on the london stock exchange and a constituent of the ftse 250 index until it merged with dixons retail on 7 august 2014 to form dixons carphone. ==history== ===foundation=== the company was co-founded in 1989, when most portable phones were too bulky to carry and called car phones, by current chairman sir charles dunstone and julian brownlie. brownlie and dunstone put Â£6,000 into the company from their savings. in 1990 dunstone then called his old school friend and chartered accountant david ross,  who agreed to become finance director. based originally in dunstone's rented flat on the marylebone road, london, four years later the company had grown to 20 stores. ===taking on a third partner=== while dunstone became the public face of the carphone warehouse, david ross (described by dunstone as his "secret weapon"),{{c
British_Royal_Warrant_holders Companies_disestablished_in_2014 Companies_formerly_listed_on_the_London_Stock_Exchange Consumer_electronics_retailers_of_the_United_Kingdom Mobile_phone_companies_of_the_United_Kingdom Mobile_virtual_network_operators Retail_companies_based_in_London Retail_companies_established_in_1989 Retail_companies_of_the_United_Kingdom Telecommunications_companies_of_the_United_Kingdom