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Orange aims disrupting SA mobile market with store

Cape Town – Global telecoms operator Orange has doubled down on its intent to disrupt the local industry by opening its first store in Cape Town.

On Wednesday, the company which has traditionally sold mobile phones via its website, opened its first walk-in store in Claremont, near Cape Town.

"We are excited about the store, as it not only provides a further platform for the brands growth into Africa - which is a key market for us - but is also an additional step in our commitment to our customer base in the region," said Orange Horizons CEO Sèbastien Crozier.

The company has quietly been building a mobile sales division with its online store which offers a number of devices at lower cost than South Africans would typically pay through established channels.

Many smartphones on the website are available at no delivery charge and dual SIM phones are also marketed.

Free Wi-Fi

"The response to the Orange Online Store from the South African market exceeded our expectations," said Crozier.

Orange has operations in a number of African countries and while the company is not a mobile operator in SA, it has taken a number of disruptive actions.

The firm offers, for example, free Wi-Fi through its partnership with African Eagle Tourism. And despite not being a mobile player in South Africa, Orange regards the market as a priority.

"South Africa is an interesting market for many reasons: At first, it’s the most important economy in Africa and Orange is already settled in 16 countries in Africa as a real mobile operator," said Crozier.

The new store is intended to cement the brand in the minds of consumers.

"While the store will provide a platform for the promotion of new products into the local market, it will also provide a physical point of contact for customers, which I believe will make them feel more comfortable when using the Orange Online Store and purchasing from Orange in general," said franchisee Greg Dunbar.

But Orange may not have it all its own way. Mobile operators are fiercely looking to drive down the cost of smartphones aimed at first time budget conscious buyers.

Strategy

"You want to drive down your low-cost device to as low as possible. Currently we're buying a device for about $40, and it's retailing for just under R600 in terms of Android devices," Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO, previously told Fin24.

For Crozier, the first store is part of the strategy to build a more consumer focused business that will exploit the company's core skills.

"Further to the Orange Wi-Fi offering in South Africa, our plans to launch as an ISP in 2015 will be made easier by having a point of service and contact with our customers."

The store will officially begin trading from January 2015.


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