Staff Reporter

Gareth Jones has joined Northampton distributor EBS as a non-executive chairman.

EBS founder and majority shareholder Ray Kingston said: Gareth and I have been friends and colleagues since the early nineties. I have great respect for Gareths in-depth knowledge of the industry and his proven track record. I believe his appointment will further enhance our current excellent management team ensuring we are well placed to achieve our ambitions and strategic plans.

Jones said: I have watched Ray and his team develop a first class and successful business over the years and I am delighted to be joining them and involved in their exciting future plans

Jones was sales director for Orange until 2001 and chief operating officer at 3 for two years following its launch in early 2003.

US distributor Brightstar has teamed up with US IT distributor Tech Data to launch a new UK and European handset distribution business.

The new company Brightstar Europe will distribute mobile phones and other wireless devices to network operators dealers agents retailers and e-tailers throughout the UK and Europe. Tech Data and Brightstar will have a 50 per cent joint ownership of Brightstar Europe. The joint venture arrangement will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Brightstar Europe will be headquartered in the UK with access to 10 logistics centres and 16 sales offices across Europe. The company is expected to commence operations in March pending regulatory and other required approvals.

Tech Data CEO Robert Dutkowsky said: The formation of this joint venture with Brightstar is a new and exciting approach towards extending Tech Datas reach into new product and service markets. Tech Datas established pan-European footprint and logistics capabilities in combination with Brightstars knowledge of the mobile device market and its relationships with many of the worlds leading mobile manufacturers and operators will provide customers with unparalleled service.

He added: Brightstar Europe will serve as a critical supply chain partner enabling manufacturers and operators to reduce costs improve delivery times and invest more in next generation technologies.

Brightstar president and CEO Marcelo Claure said: The European mobile device market is highly fragmented in terms of supply chain and distribution services. We believe that Brightstar Europe will transform service levels provided to operators retailers and manufacturers significantly reducing operating costs and improving mobile device delivery throughout the region. We are introducing next generation distribution to the European market.

Last week Brightstar confirmed that it had struck a global distribution deal with Motorola.

Motorola executive vice president and president Ron Garriques said: Motorola is working aggressively to build our brand strength as well as our distribution reach in markets throughout the world. Brightstars expertise are proven. It brings rapidly expanding capabilities that can help us seize and capitalize on market opportunities.

Go Mobile has acquired all 14 Activmobile stores from Northeast distributor Fone Logistics for an undisclosed amount.

The purchase takes Go Mobiles retail footprint to 53 and consolidates it as the second largest independent dealership chain behind JAG and the fourth largest indirect retail chain behind Carphone Warehouse Phones 4U and JAG.

The sale sees Fone Logistics end its 10-year association with retail originally in the guise of an MPC franchise and latterly in a wholly owned estate of 14 outlets.

Go Mobile currently with 39 stores will assume control for the 14 Activmobile outlets immediately on conclusion of the legal transfer and will seek to incorporate them into the current estate.

All existing Activmobile staff will have their employment transferred to Go Mobile and the stores will begin trading under license from February.

Go Mobile managing director Iain Humphrey told Mobile News: I said last year that we would look to expand the chain further and in the right manner. We are ensuring that our retail footprint is right – that it is an asset to the networks and not a competitor of them on the high street. The acquisition consolidates our position as a quality dealership chain.

Fone Logistics said that it will concentrate its efforts solely on developing its network relationships and capitalising on market opportunities.

Fone Logistics CEO Ian Gillespie said: Fone Logistics is a distributor. Our primary focus is in supporting our dealers and working with them to develop sustainable long-term business. Our retail business served a purpose initially in helping us understand the dynamics of the high street but as the industry shifts within indirect to a SME and B2B focus we have shifted along with it. To succeed in independent retail you need to live and breathe it and that is what Go Mobile does.

Humphrey added: Our business model is built around achieving a critical mass of stores and in trading each of them to its max. We are pleased to have made this acquisition which represents the next step in Go Mobiles development.

EBS has combined with Orange and Sony Ericsson on its latest dealer incentive scheme Rock the Kasbah. The new scheme rewards dealers for the quality of the Orange connections they put through EBS.

Rock the Kasbah offers EBS dealers the opportunity to earn points based on sales of Sony Ericsson handsets and Orange connections. Higher levels of points are given on specific handset and higher Orange tariff sales. Bonus points are also rewarded to dealers based on reducing levels of returns and bad debt or fraud.

The new scheme is in line with Oranges quality drive. Orange is looking for a reduction in returns and bad debt from its dealer base.

Orange national sales manager Mark OMeara said: With such fierce competition for dealer loyalty and market share incentive programmes are becoming the key to creating and driving communication and loyalty. We are keen to work with the channel to ensure dealers distributors and in turn Orange benefit from improving quality alongside driving retention and sales.

He added: To ensure we create an incentive that not only delivers return on investment but impacts the bottom line we have incorporated the traditional sales volume targets with two additional measures based on dealer returns and bad debt. This will result in a better quality of sale for all involved and deliver results against the bottom line.

EBS commercial director Mark Jennings said: Unlike previous years when a network has decided to go it alone and shift their focus from quantity to quality this year all networks are delivering the same message. They all want quality connections. This is something that can not be ignored.

Sony Ericsson UK & Ireland managing director John Harber said: Sony Ericsson is committed to supporting Orange in ensuring quality sales and reducing return rates. We are excited to be sponsoring the Rock the Kasbah incentive which promotes our Walkman and Cyber-shot range.

Jennings added: EBS has run many successful dealer incentives over the years but they have all been driven by delivering volume connections on high talk plans. We have recognised that this needs to change for us to fit into the current model being delivered to ourselves and quality needs to become a measurable commodity.

Top scoring dealers on the incentive will win a trip for two to Marrakech in Morocco with a jeep safari through the Atlas Mountains a visit to the Bahia Palace and a trip to the famous Souks to boot.

Elite Mobile is offering dealers the chance to ride in helicopters speedboats and rally cars as part of its Xchange dealer incentive programme which is running again this year.

Xchange will run through the year. Dealers on the Xchange programme are allocated points against purchases of specific product ranges. As points accrue members get to claim more valuable rewards.

Up to 30 rewards are up for grabs. Elite is offering a Powerboat Day a Helicopter Tour over London a days Subaru Impreza Rally Experience a Sony HD digital camcorder and a Sony Vaio laptop.

Elite sales and marketing director Barry Nash said: Many of our customers are independents. We work hard to support them and we want to reward their loyalty. When we were researching schemes that would be open and fair to every customer no matter their size or status we found the typical loyalty promotion runs for just a few weeks or months and is inevitably skewed in favour of the larger buyer something other dealers naturally resent.

That type of incentive wasnt for us.

Nash claimed the Xchange programme rates dealers fairly whether large or small. Ninety per cent of Elites customers used the scheme said Nash.

Nokia has reported high Q4 sales and profits despite shifting phones at lower average prices.

Nokia shipped a record 106 million phones at decreased average selling prices. It put its lower average selling prices down to sales in emerging markets. Despite this it reported higher profits as a result of its scale.

Its net sales in Q4 were up 16 per cent sequentially and 13 per cent year-on-year. Gross margin increased to 32.4 per cent up from 30.9 per cent last quarter.

Operating margin rose to 13.3 per cent up from 12.2 per cent in the last quarter.

Nokia had been expected to report 24 per cent growth in sales of its more expansive multimedia phones. The confirmed figure just six per cent fell way short of that mark. Analysts saw this as a minor blip.

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said: We recorded record device volumes net sales and earnings-per-share for both the fourth quarter and full year 2006. Also on a sequential basis profitability improved significantly with gross margins for the quarter up in all business groups.

He added: Nokia was able to increase its share of the global device market significantly in 2006 to an estimated 36 per cent clearly solidifying our number one position in the industry. We achieved this result through the strengths of Nokias world class brand products cost structure and efficiency without sacrificing our operating margins or cash flow.

Traders have started to take money back from the First Curacao International Bank (FCIB) based on the Dutch Antilles.

Dass Solicitors said that it had procured the release of in excess of USD 1.6 million (GBP 0.8 million) from the Central Bank which assumed all its assets after placing the FCIB into liquidation on behalf of one trader.

Dass has further hearings listed on February 2 for a number of its other clients.

Dass said: If you have not already initiated a wire transfer and provided the documentation requested by the Central Bank we would advise you to do so immediately.

Hay replaces Stuart Henry Carphone Warehouses director of indirect distribution who left Orange 16 months ago.
Hay reports to Orange UK vice-president of sales Mike Newnham who has had replacements for Henry in position on three separate occasions since Henrys departure only for deals to fall through at the eleventh hour on each. Orange head of indirect sales Steve Heald and head of multiple retail Simon Wetton will report to Hay.
Hay will be responsible for managing existing partnerships and creating new relationships within the indirect channel across mobile and broadband.
Newnham said: His tenacious approach has ensured the Britvic brand portfolio has been expertly represented across the UK while operating in one of the countrys most competitive industries.
Hay takes up his role on March 5.

In response to Connecting for Health a 10-year government initiative to transfer all UK health records into electronic format Medify Solutions created MedifyRemote.
The secure mobile patient note access application is the first to enter field use throughout the NHS. It allows healthcare professionals to access review and update a patients complete medical history in a single secure session via a Microsoft Windows-enabled PDA.
Dextra said there had been a good response to a MedifyRemote direct email campaign with high levels of orders and enquiries.
Dextra Solutions sales director Angie Simpson said: To see orders placed and deliveries despatched early in the partnership bodes very well indeed. We see MedifyRemote as a groundbreaking data application and believe the potential business customer base does too.

It also appears that 3 will still be able to cancel a customers contract within this two-week period but the dealer will receive no credit at all.
Dealers are now left with the dilemma of what to do with stock that has been returned and used.
Fone Doctors proprietor Faisal Sheikh said the move would annoy a lot of people. Dealers will be far from happy he said. If anything its a bit of a stupid move on 3s part. I think this will probably annoy consumers more than the dealers themselves. It may even lead to some dealers boycotting the network.
However this is a move that some dealers have already put into motion because of policy changes by 3.
Airways Communications Gary Bridger said he has severed all ties with the network.
We dont bother with 3 anymore its too much trouble he said. It appears that 3 is tightening the rules in the industry and attempting to shut down the direct selling guys. Its basically saying to people to follow its trading terms or not bother at all.
Busby Communications Jake Atkins also believes 3 is becoming harder to deal with: Theyve become unbearable he said.
However 3 defended its latest policy change and said it was doing it to develop the network.
This latest change just brings us in line with the rest of the industry said a 3 spokesman.
The main point is when we launched four years ago we were totally alien to everyone. We have now become a more mature business.