SEOUL, KOREA - The business of selling low-cost "second mobile phones" at convenience stores pioneered by 7-Eleven is being imitated by other rival convenience store chains such as GS25 and CU (formerly Family Mart). Albeit small beginnings, it portends something big that may change the landscape of the whole mobile phone retail market.
The convenience store chains that began selling mobile phone handsets from late January have reported a brisk demand from budget-conscious consumers although the stores have had problem securing enough inventories.
For example, GS25 said it is selling a small number of the phones at only a few stores in Seoul including Mullae, Dongwon (Gangnam), and Nambu (Shinlim) and saw them go out of stock within three days.
CU also said its 1,500 "Re-Heart" phones that it has been selling since January 29 have been sold out. The phones, refurbished and sold without a USIM card, were offered uniformly at 29,800 won. The retail store chain operator has distributed the phones at its 270 store locations in Seoul.
Earlier in November last year, 7-Eleven began selling the second phones at its retail outlets, selling a total of 4,300 devices to date. A 7-Eleven official said, "The sales performance of the second phones was way more than we had expected. We expanded the low-cost phone lineups to smartphone models based on these results."
Overseas mobile phone makers such as ZTE Corp. of China are mulling the launch of inexpensive phone models through convenience store networks. They figure the barriers to entry have been lowered significantly because of the "discovery" of convenience stores as excellent outlets for their cheaper models.
Sean Chung (press@whowired.com)
**Article provided by Whowired
