The company supplied mobile phone accessories to retailers such as The Link and Argos reports Bard Covington.

Apex called in receivers Silver Altman after it became apparent that there were not enough orders to maintain profitability in the face of diminishing margins and a shrinking customer base.

Apex lost its biggest customer The Link after Dixons Group decided to outsource the management of its accessory sales to Kondor (see story below).

Silver Altman head of liquidations Tim Brown told Mobile News:

The reason for the companys demise was a lack of further orders. The mobile phone market has changed. The company found it impossible to change with it. Some customers had taken their business elsewhere. Margins were too tight. The bottom has fallen out of the accessories market. Clearly selling mobile phone accessories is not a good way to make money.

The directors tried to expand into other areas but couldnt raise enough funds to do so. They decided to get out before things got serious says Brown.

Link managing director Nick Wood refutes any suggestion that The Link was responsible for Apexs demise.

Apex went bust before we made any decisions. It is not true (Cont P2) that we forced it out of business says Wood. Brown says Apexs creditors were on course to get good dividends until the banks intervened.

We managed to sell off large amounts of stock. Creditors could have been repaid. But Royal Bank of Scotland Invoice Finance decided to protect its interests and appoint its own receivers. That means there is likely to be a much lower dividend to creditors.

The news raises further fears about the state of the accessories industry. Last year Paragon (ex-Fone Range) went into administration after selling the Fone Range brand name and dealer base to Elite (see below). Ora Telecom also went into administration last November and has since been sold to Acson UK (Mobile News March 4).

Caudwell spokesperson Iain Macauley said:

We are aware there is a pending matter between CellStar and three former CellStar employees but this does not involve Caudwell Group in any way.

However Caudwell Group is apparently preparing to defend its employees and possibly take action of its own.

CellStar managing director David Aitken said:

We have taken action against three employees who left the company in a manner that was unacceptable to CellStar. Weve learned that solicitors have been instructed to defend our action and we are unsure as to whether the Caudwell Group has offered the employees legal help. But it is the same solicitors that Caudwell Group uses.

The deal calls for a minimum purchase of a million of Hop-Ons GSM phones per year valued at more than $25 million annually. The phones will be distributed in the UK and Spain as part of the three-year exclusive agreement. The phones are expected to sell for around $30 ( 20) each in the USA.

Hop-On spokesperson David Pasquale declined to name the London distributor for competitive reasons. He said that discussions with a network to connect the phones are underway.

The agreement also gives Hop-On monthly recurring revenue of a percentage of the airtime sold to consumers.

Hop-On chairman Peter Michaels said: (cont P2)

The UK and Spain are very attractive markets for us because of the demographics and recognition as two of the worlds most heavily-travelled tourist locations said Michaels.

We are confident that the high interest in our phones will translate into additional purchase orders.

The phones will be sold with and require an earpiece/microphone for operation. They do not have keypads but rely on voice-activation. They come configured with 60 minutes of pre-paid airtime. The phone is not allocated a dedicated number. Instead callers are given a dial-up number and input a PIN number to be connected with the phone.

In America Hop-On will be distributing its products through some of the largest retailers and convenience stores.

Hop-On says it is aggressively seeking joint-venture opportunities with domestic and international network operators including marketing distribution sales and/or value-added services.

Such deals will involve either technology licensing for manufacture or marketing and distribution of Hop-On phones through a partners existing sales channels.

It is alleged Orange uses its credit-checking process to reject dealer-initiated connections only to contact the customer directly and connect the phones later on.

Matlock Mobiles proprietor Alastair Newton claims Orange is still actively poaching customers.

Newton told Mobile News that he will be sending Orange an invoice for unpaid commissions of around 450 after Orange rejected his sale of nine handsets to a corporate customer on the grounds that the customer didnt have three months proof of address.

Only a short time later Newton contacted the customer to see if he could resurrect the deal only to discover that Orange had connected all nine handsets directly.

Im furious said Newton. We did all the work but Orange has connected the customer direct.

I do not care how many denials they make in the trade press regarding poaching of customers. They are as active now as ever.

Even single phones are being knocked back by credit (cont P2) referrals to give them the opportunity to convert it in to a direct sale. I hope they drown in their debts after I move all my Orange customers to other networks.

I will be invoicing Orange for the lost commissions and some data cables that we ordered in for the customer that have no use elsewhere said Newton.

Oranges connection referral processes are far too slow. Orange demanded customer proofs. We faxed them over several times only to be told that Orange hadnt received them. It worries me when it takes Orange two hours and four faxes to connect a phone.

No wonder people are reporting fewer sales. How many phones can you connect at that rate?

Orange says it is investigating Newtons claims. Orange head of sales Stuart Henry responded by saying:

We take any allegation of Orange poaching customers from retailers very seriously and will investigate any allegation individually. Should any wrongdoing be found we will take appropriate action.

Should any dealer feel that they have been treated unfairly by Orange I urge them to contact Orange directly via their business manager or alternatively they can email our commercial support team Henry added.

In another development Northampton dealer Scancom has hit back at Orange national sales manager Adam Clarke who accused him of a lack of commitment in a letter which ended Scancoms dealer agreement.

Now Orange has agreed that Clarkes letter could have been worded more tactfully. Scancom boss Gary Pope was furious when Clarke terminated his direct dealer arrangement giving him three months notice and telling him to use an Orange distributor instead.

Clarkes letter stated:

It is evident the level of commitment you have demonstrated to Orange has fallen markedly recently. In light of this I have to advise you that we are no longer able to justify the cost of maintaining your direct account with us.

Therefore in accordance with Clause 7 schedule 1 of your dealer agreement with us I hereby give you three months notice of termination.

A furious Pope said his sales had dropped due to the lack of attention from Orange dealer managers and little stock.

He replied to Clarke saying:

Never accuse me of lowering my commitment to Orange. I have given Orange 99.9 per cent of our mobile phone connections since 1994.

While appreciating that we are not your biggest connector I have always strived to give you quality business customers. But this obviously counts for nothing.

You infer I am giving my business to other networks. I have customers waiting for Nokia 6210s 8310s and Ericsson T39s all of which you cannot supply because they are on allocation etc.

Since you got rid of [dealer manager] Paul Beard we havent even heard from a dealer manager let alone received a stock allocation.

Pope told Mobile News:

I was angered by the fact that it sent out a standard letter with no thanks for the business that we have given it in the past. We are not a big connector but who is? I accept it wants us to deal through a distributor.

New connections have dropped. Upgrade business is 10- times more than new connections. We are still moving the same amount of kit. But most of it is upgrade business.

I dont understand why Orange didnt set us some definitive targets. I cant accept the impolite manner in which it has dealt with this. I deal with my customers politely. Why dont they?

Oranges Stuart Henry said:

The letter to Mr Pope could have been worded more tactfully. It was sent in reaction to our inability to make contact with Mr Pope directly. A business manager has subsequently contacted Scancom and arranged to meet with Mr Pope.

Dealers who have a direct relationship with Orange are aware of clear criteria that include a minimum sales threshold. These criteria take into account the cost to service supply and manage the account.

We continually review the performance of all our direct dealers to confirm they are best served through a direct relationship with Orange.

BTCellnet sales director Mark Stansfeld told Mobile News:

We remain absolutely committed to the independents. We continue to support them. Were working more closely than ever with them. (Cont P2)

After our stores have been refurbished they will have dedicated business areas.

I envisage committed partners from the independent channel being invited to sell in these dedicated business areas.

We should be working even more closely with our closest business partners he said.

As we move towards complex applications the independents importance can only grow.

The challenge will be for those who have built their business models around volume. They will have to adapt to high-value solution-based sales. Well help them change promises Stansfeld.

If you walk away from a channel its very hard to get them to come back when you need them. I havent got all the answers.

I still have a lot to do. Though the proportion of business delivered by our independent partners is growing I understand a lot of trust still needs to be built up.

Stansfeld promised independents they will get to sell everything in the 02 portfolio.

BlackBerry the corporate email solution was originally sold only by BTCellnet corporate sales.

But because the network wanted BlackBerry to attract as many high-value customers as possible it is now sold through the independent channel.

Independents have brought in some excellent orders. They are doing really well in comparison with the network corporate sales forces. Independents know their geographical area and the opportunities out there. SMEs are not necessarily looking for the cheapest solution. They are looking for someone to sort out problems Stansfeld said (full story P20).

The raids by 15 policemen and eight Trading Standards personnel on November 7 resulted from months of planning and investigations involving Online Mobile Phone Accessories and both Hackney Road and Waltham Forest Trading Standards.

Four men were cautioned and will be questioned by Trading Standards officers over the coming weeks. If convicted they could face substantial fines and jail terms of up to 10 years.

The seized goods made in China included many brands represented by Online together with high-profile designer clothes brands and cartoon characters. The fascias will be used as evidence in the prosecution of the raided companys directors. (Cont P2)

Mick Grace an ex-police and trading standards officer now advising Online said the counterfeit fascias were sold mainly by market traders and were rarely found in legitimate high street shops.

Traders bought the fascias for 2 to 3 and were selling them for between 10 and 15.

The cases we seized carried just about every designer name you care to mention.

The thing is the quality is so poor that if you carry them around in your pocket for a week the design will have rubbed off. The men who were cautioned in this raid will be dealt with by local authority solicitors. I cant see them wriggling out of this one.

Companies or individuals still requiring tables may apply to be wait-listed for any tables that become available due to cancellations.

Contact 020 7704 7440.

Vodafones managing director of customer services Iain Graham has replaced Andy Smith as dealer manager.

Smith now becomes sales director for a newly-formed small-to medium-sized enterprise (SME) division tasked with improving sales to this sector of the market.

The changes have been ordered by Vodafone sales and distribution director Stephen Brewer who felt more emphasis needed to (Cont P8) be placed on SMEs. Brewer said that SME tactics needed to be spun out from under the Vodafone Corporate banner.

One of the victims of the shake-up is Vodafone Corporate managing director Graham Ward who has taken redundancy along with 650 out of 10000 other Vodafone UK employees.

Orange has also geared up to improve distribution to the SME sector. Fourteen dealers from around the country have been chosen by Orange to become business specialists in a drive to target the small business market.

There are 900000 small businesses of two to 49 employees. We have a 23 per cent market share of that community. There is a great opportunity for us. To concentrate on developing new customers from small businesses Orange is creating a new channel of business specialists.

Small businesses prefer to buy and deal with a local independent specialist said Andy Hollingworth sales manager for dealers and distribution.

Former Ericsson UK managing director Alex Rodrigues heads up the new global marketing communications team. He is joined by former Ericsson UK director of marketing and new business Steve Walker who has a global product-marketing role.

Ericsson president of Asia-Pacific Philip Rambech becomes SonyEricsson UK managing director while Sony UK business unit manager Peter Marsden is now SonyEricsson UK head of marketing.

Ex-Ericsson head of product management Colin Ellis has landed a regional product-marketing role based in Munich.

Rodrigues says the appointment of Rambech is significant.

I worked for Phil Rambech when I went to work in Singapore. He has loads of experience heading up the Asia-Pacific region. He has a vast understanding of the Asian market and that experience will (Cont P8) be vital for the UK. It shows that SonyEricsson views the UK as an important market added Rodrigues.

Our campaigns have yet to be announced. To begin with we are focusing on the integration process. The first step is to align the products from both brands. They will continue under their existing brand names but brought to you by SonyEricsson. There is a strong portfolio of products. SonyEricsson is very strong in GPRS. We have more GPRS phones in the market than our competitors. On the connectivity side we now offer Bluetooth and Memory Stick. In time people will see why Sony and Ericsson are well suited to working together.

The network has told dealers it will be reducing pre-pay stock allocations to focus on higher-value customers and is also predicting impending stock shortages due to manufacturers struggling to meet demand.

Many retailers and dealers say that all networks are reducing distribution and allocation of pre-pay stock. But a Vodafone spokesperson said there would be no restriction of pre-pay stock. BTCellnet and Orange were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

We estimate there will be greater demand for pre-pay stock than we can obtain from the networks. We are only being allocated 60 per cent of the pre-pay stock we require. Networks are turning down many retailers and are restricting volumes and distribution channels Carphone Warehouse UK chief executive Andrew Harrison told Mobile News.

One 2 One marketing PR manager Neil Bent said:

We still expect substantial numbers of people to buy pre-pay propositions. But our priority is to satisfy demand from higher-value contract customers. Stock allocations will reflect this.

Pre-pay was popular because handset prices were low. Most people have a phone now. There will be fewer people buying phones as gifts. We are not desperately going to chase those people who (Cont P2) have yet to buy a phone.

There will be no above-the-line advertising is to support our Pay As You Go offering. Handset supply could be a problem for the industry at Christmas this year. The most popular handsets are in shortest supply. We cant get hold of Samsung A300s concluded Bent.

Samsung general manager Mark Mitchinson agreed demand for the A300 was extremely high.

We have experienced increasing orders for A300. We are working on ways to get more product into the UK. It is great news for us but it puts demand on capacity. We are hopeful of increasing supply. All the products are selling well. We are in the top three on most networks and retail chains. You just cant turn volumes on and off to meet demand. Its a nice problem to have.