(Telecompaper) KPN announced it's abandoning its youth mobile brand Hi. Sales of Hi products will stop 01 May, and existing customers will be transfered to KPN-brand services by July. The 52 Hi shops will be closed this summer. The Dutch operator plans to continue with a multi-brand strategy, with 'KPN' offering "full service" and the Telfort and Simyo brands focusing on the low-cost market. KPN said the arrival of 4G and smartphones meant the Hi and KPN customer bases were increasingly similar, as were the product offerings of large data bundles and combined fixed and mobile services. Eliminating the Hi brand also fits with the group's strategy to simplify its operations further. First launched in 1996, Hi was aimed primarily at young people. Telecompaper estimates the brand had 1.5 million customers at the end of 2015. Last year KPN already ended its partnership with MTV Mobile for the youth market. While T-Mobile took up the partnership, it also later decided to end the MTV service.