Allphones opens 50th store, eyes 100th before year-end

MANILA, Philippines - Obviously keeping in step with the country’s legion of mobile phone users, Australia’s leading mobile retailer Allphones recently marked a milestone with the opening of its 50th outlet in the Philippines, located at the Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

“The speed of expansion for both the country and the broad reach the company has achieved is something rare, considering we are a new entrant in the market,” Allphones Philippines marketing head Maureen Gallant said in a release.

More importantly, Allphones is on course in its growth trajectory. “During this year, we will be opening in excess of 100 stores,” declared Geoff Hester, chief executive adviser of Allphones Philippines at a recent press conference.

Allphones is a “one-stop shop for the latest mobile devices and postpaid plans,” under the aegis of local conglomerate Tao Corp. through Taodharma Inc. The brand also prides itself in its superior customer service, coupled with paperless processing of transactions.

For Hester, there was a clear opportunity for Allphones to enter the local market. In a previous interview, he said he found it “quite humorous to go to (local) telco stores… and have to take a ticket and wait to get served.”

Allphones, which opened its first local store in April 2013 in Marikina City, focuses not just on offering a diverse range of products (“smartphones, tablets, power banks, headsets, chargers, phone covers, memory cards… almost anything connected to a phone,” said Allphones Philippines COO and GM Ricardo Avelino) but also on enhancing the customer experience to dispense with lines and sales clerks unfamiliar with what they are selling.

The Allphones business model factors in extensive training of in-store “consultants” (eight per store) who are thoroughly knowledgeable about the many brands and models sold in the premises ranging in size from 45 to 100 square meters. “There’s a huge amount of investment in training,” Avelino said.

Meanwhile, the company partners exclusively with Globe Telecom to facilitate paperless postpaid applications.

Globe chief operating adviser Peter Bithos said, “It’s the same postpaid plan you will find in our (Globe) stores. From time to time, you will find special deals at Allphones that are just for Allphones customers. From a services standpoint, you get the same service in both stores. From a device standpoint, Allphones offers a better range.”

Hester said Allphones “took a lot of time working through how to set up in the Philippines, and the best way to provide an exceptional experience for the customers. A key to that is having the very best network. We know that the Philippines is very deep on social networking. As Filipinos adopt and adapt strategies around using data, they need a really, really strong network to do that. Globe invested a lot of money in their network. They are rolling it out now. You have to be with the best to be the best.”

Despite its proven track record in Australia, Hester maintained the company took pains to study the local market and expand “based on the needs of our customers.”

For Allphones, this means having live demo units in the stores, and having the people to demonstrate them. Allphones staffers are also trained to be able to sensitively ascertain needs and expectations of customers and talk to them effectively.

“I would not say that there are many retail outlets that are doing the same,” said Hester. “We have improved that experience. As opposed to taking a ticket, you can come in and be consulted with, and be given a great experience… Our success so far comes from Filipinos being happy with the service they are getting.”

All told, Allphones said it has found a connection with Filipinos because of its differentiators: “fun and convenient, unmatched mobile phone and SIM deals, and high-tech and futuristic in-store transactions.”

Allphones is holding its “All for Fun Caravan” which kicks off in Cebu on April 25 and will proceed to Davao, Puerto Princesa, Subic, Lucena, and Cagayan de Oro.

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For more information, visit www.allphones.com.ph.