Retailer looking for a bigger portion of the accessories space but warns manufacturers must produce broader ranges
Phone 4U says it will look to increase its focus on mobile accessories in the coming months – but warns success will depend on speed of production.
This is according to director of trading Matt Child, who told Mobile News the firm wanted to improve its performance in the market, particularly in the charging and power arena – to get a bigger slice of the £200 million the market is said to be worth.
But he warned to achieve this, manufacturers need to start producing broader ranges of popular items at device launch, such as cases, and supply a variety of power options as the penetration of smartphones into the market grows.
“A good accessory range at launch can be a tipping point for customers buying a contract from you or not buying a contract from you,” Child said.
“The market is around £200 million plus and there’s a real opportunity for manufacturers of handsets to put a little bit more focus on accessories.
“We know that smartphones aren’t cheap – they have big screens and you’ll need some protection with that. It’s something Phones 4U are going to champion with manufacturers. We need to have a broader range.
“Retail is about looking at the categories in growth, and one of those areas is power on the move, so having a better range of ‘good, better, best’ for standard mains chargers, cases that provide power on the move and standalone units.”