Mobile phone sales plunge by 30%

As consumers nowadays start to tighten their belts to prepare for the worst to come, mobile phone vendors likewise feel the pinch as drastic decline in sales sets in.

Junrex president and CEO Jun T. Yap said that they have experienced about 30 percent drop of sales for the month of January, which was already felt since the late months of last year.

“Last December, sales were up a little because it was peak season but it was not as much compared to last 2007. Starting the third quarter of last year, the confidence level of some consumers had already started to decline. They say we are not yet affected by the global recession but the spending of consumers have started to slow down,” said Yap.   

He said that the negative news about the economy is making consumers conscious about their spending because they develop fears for their own future and their survival in this surfacing economic crisis.

“Most Filipinos have always been updated with the latest trend in technology so we can say that the volume is still there especially that prices for gadgets have lowered down so now more segment of the population can afford but consumers are now more conscious with value and quality,” said Yap.

He said that by being conscious buyers, most consumers look for more value of their money in terms of their purchases and they no longer just buy for what they want but for what is really needed.

Yap shared that to deal with the crisis at hand, their company are now looking at short-term projections and even in their stocking, Junrex have lowered down their inventories.

“Now we often look at our costs weekly to adjust and manage our overhead and reduce our operating costs. We can really feel the impact of the drop in sales but we hope we can continue to maintain the volume. If situation continue to get worse, we might possibly carry lesser brands and close down some outlets that are subsidized by our bigger shops,” he shared.

Meanwhile, RC Goldline chief executive officer Christian Paro-an shared that in their case, they have also started to see huge decline for mobile phone sales and a shift from buying high-end units to just basic call and text phones.

“Since news announced the world crisis in the second semester of the year, drastic decline of sales have been felt. Last Christmas season, mobile phone business should have been strong but it was stagnant,” he said.

Paro-an said that considering Cebuanos’ value for money and quality attitude, huge sales drops has been noted in the area.

He said that in they have experienced around 30 to 40 percent decline of volume and sales in their mobile phone segments so they are now slowly shifting their marketing efforts to gadgets like digital cameras and laptops.

Another strategy that they are currently applying to attract customers is through their sale which offers lower rates for some items and tapping into some segment that are not well utilized such as the schools.

“This year will be a tougher year for everyone in the industry because of tougher competition so we will go the extra mile to serve our customers aside from the price war especially that with the crisis consumers have become more price and quality conscious. Developing stronger relationship with them is important now,” said Paro-an.