Digicel to grow retail network
Published:Friday | November 26, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Telecoms company Digicel Jamaica said it spent J$26 million on expanding its retail network and staff training, including new outlets at the Fairview commercial complex in Montego Bay and Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
This type of expenditure is not one-off, according to Chief Executive Officer Mark Linehan.
"We continue to invest heavily in our retail and recharge footprints and to provide the necessary training for your staff," said Linehan at an awards ceremony for dealers, at which FIMI Wireless emerged the top dealer.
The company has 180 retail outlets through its dealer network.
The top-up vendor network, an avenue through which Digicel is trying to push new sales, is now at 26,000, with Linehan suggesting that the retail base would grow further by March 2011.
"We have introduced Phone2Phone electronic top-up and will continue to focus on driving electronic recharge over the coming weeks and months."
Nokia remains the top-selling handset for the company but BlackBerry devices are among the fastest-growing purchases, Digicel told the Financial Gleaner on Monday.
The top seller for Digicel remains voice, followed by international calling and its Gimme Five plan, which offers free text messages and free call time during night-time and on weekends.
Linehan also identified data as a growth market, and said Digicel was positioning to satisfy that demand through its latest innovation - Digicel 4G Broadband.
Digicel claims a subscriber base of more than two million in Jamaica after a three per cent growth in numbers last year, and a two per cent increase in revenues.
The company does not disclose its country financial data, but consolidated income across Digicel Group Limited was US$2.2 billion, or just about US$204 per subscriber.
Growth drivers include data, postpaid services and BlackBerry sales.
Jamaica is said to be one of Digicel's most lucrative markets
"Our strong partnerships with you, our dea-lers and our recharge partners, have ensured that we remain the mobile provider of choice," Linehan said.
"Even with increased competition and a depressed economy, we have seen our subscriber base grow month-on-month over the last two years."