Globe boosts partnership with supermarts, convenience stores

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom is strengthening its partnership with supermarket and convenience store chains to boost revenues from prepaid reloading.

Globe national sales head Raya Roa said the telecom firm is expanding its prepaid load retail network to include exclusive point-of-sale partnerships with the country’s biggest names in the retailing business.

“We already have point-of-sale services in Puregold, 7-Eleven, Rustan’s and Shopwise. Ever Gotesco, Waltermart and Mercury Drugs will follow soon,” she said.

Globe announced recently an expanded partnership with 7-Eleven which gives its subscribers reloading in 600 7-Eleven stores nationwide a 10-percent rebate for every P70 prepaid load.

The offer is in celebration of the 7-Eleven month which will last until Aug. 12.

According to Roa, prepaid load distribution through these networks will allow Globe to make reloading easier but at higher value. This scheme, she said, best complements the individual and micro-enterprise retailers that Globe has already commissioned for the reloading service.

“Eighty percent of our prepaid customers are still buying prepaid credits through electronic-loading and only 20 percent are doing it through prepaid cards or web-loading,” she said.

Roa added that Globe’s prepaid cards sales are slowing down due to the wider availability of e-load retailers. Globe has 26.2 million subscribers, of which over 95 percent are on prepaid.

Globe consumer sales head Ramon Matriano said the firm has highhopes for the consumer segment of its business as postpaid subscribers are matching the growth in prepaid subscribers.

“Our promotions are very popular, especially in the postpaid segment. We are confident that we will sell more than last year this 2011,” he added.