Mobile phone accessory manufacturers and distributors say the accessory market has redefined itself since the onslaught of increased wireless carrier competition.
Retailers no longer try to convince newly activated mobile phone subscribers that they need a leather case or a cigarette lighter adapter to go with their new handset. Point-of-purchase sales in retail stores have almost dissolved. “In the retail environment, there is virtually no point-of-purchase accessories sales anymore unless it’s a small specialty store,” said Gershon Cooper, president of Ora Electronics, an accessories manufacturer based in Chatsworth, Calif. “The retail environment has changed to a high velocity sales environment. The sales people spend less time with the customer. They just want to move them out as quickly as possible. For carriers, floor sales people don’t have the incentive to sell accessories … Carriers have evolved from trying to manage everything themselves to focusing on their own competition.”
In light of these changes, accessory companies like Ora and Brightpoint now are providing outsource centers for carriers, handling everything from fulfillment services to branding. Brightpoint Inc., for example, last week signed an agreement with Sprint Spectrum L.P. to provide services such as accessory procurement, Sprint brand packaging of accessories, inventory maintenance and management, distribution to Sprint and sales of Sprint PCS-branded products to its retailers, agents and dealers. Carriers’ emphasis on direct consumer fulfillment programs has grown substantially, said Bob Schumacher, president of Access Point, Brightpoint’s accessory business. Fulfillment programs call for the accessory company to supply all accessories to the end users on behalf of the carrier.
Ora’s ZIP program, or zero inventory program, allows carriers to send to subscribers at Ora’s expense literature about aftermarket accessories. “We handle all the rest of it,” said Cooper. “We’ve perfected it to a point where it’s bundled together with subscriber loyalty programs.”
Under Technocel Inc.’s Platinum Fulfillment program, Technocel of Canoga Park, Calif., serves as a carrier’s accessory distributor and customer-service center. Customers are provided with a toll-free number on their monthly statement or an accessory buying guide brochure to reach Technocel’s customer-service center. Through the center, subscribers can order accessories as they need. The order then is processed, billed to the customer’s credit card and shipped out to the customer. Technocel pays 25 percent of each accessory sold on behalf of the carrier to the carrier each month.
