Cheap offer upsets phone market
19/2/2004 15:16
Leading home appliance chain retailer Yongle's surprisingly low offer of a
high-end mobile phone with an in-set camera is upsetting the local phone market,
where already sees cutthroat competition.
The phone, now selling for 999 yuan
(US$121), is based on the CDMA technology, or Code Division Multiple Access
technology. It's capable of multimedia messages and e-mails with a stylish
design, according to today's Shanghai Morning Post.
The newspaper report
didn't specify the model or brand of the phone, only saying its market price
stands at around 3,000 yuan.
Officials with Yongle Home Appliance Co Ltd said
the store has prepared 10,000 phones at its local outlets and will probably cost
1,500 yuan for selling each piece.
The promotion indicates Yongle's strong
resolution to tap into the local mobile phone retailing market, where users have
numbered 12 million, analysts said.
On the other side, they pointed out, it's
also a joint scheme sponsored by the telecom operator, as buyers of the phone
must sign up for a two-year telecom contract with Shanghai Unicom Co Ltd, the
only local CDMA operator, and order a monthly telecom fee package of 128
yuan.
If true, they analyzed telecom operators are transferring their
competition field to the retailing sector.
Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
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