Retailer: Sales of mobile gadgets in VisMin area drop by 15%

CEBU, Philippines - Although the Philippine economy is perceived to be improving, the mobile gadget retail has shown a slack performance this year, specifically in Visayas and Mindanao.

Jun Yap, president of Junrex Holdings Inc. which operates a chain of mobile gadget shops, said that compared to 2010, sales of mobile gadgets this year dipped by 10 to 15 percent. 

Unlike last year which was an election year, people had extra cash to purchase updated gadgets especially mobile phones to catch up with latest trend in mobile technology. This year, however, Yap noted that consumers are more prudent in their spending, with apprehensions of economic instability.

Yap’s observation is backed by the latest survey   conducted by GFK Custom Research firm which showed that purchases of mobile gadgets, particularly in Southern Philippines have slowed down compared to its performance in the previous year.

In 2010, Cebu sold about 40,000 units of mobile gadgets, GFK survey revealed.

Despite the declining trend reflected in the first nine months of this year, Yap is still optimistic that this year will end with more than 40,000 units as demand for mobile gadget is expected to turn around towards Christmas. 

According to Yap, although the market now is still dynamic in terms of buying low-end mobile units as secondary phones or as gifts, there is also a growing number of mobile phone users who are looking for affordable and quality smartphones and tablets.

As of September this year, the GFK survey showed that smartphones accounted for 25 percent of the total mobile phone sales, while Tablets such as iPad and Samsung Galaxy are catching to get a bigger market share.

Because of the changing consumer spending (in mobile gadgets), Yap said Junrex is introducing topnotch technology for mobile gadgets, and is slowing down its distribution of affordable low end mobile units.

With over 21 branches in Visayas and Mindanao, Junrex is positioning to capture the middle to high-end mobile technology consumers who are constantly looking for updated units whether in smartphones or tablets.

“The good thing about Filipino consumers is that they are very technology savvy. New models that bring in sophisticated features are a sure hit. Businesswise there is better (profit) margin in pushing for middle to high-end mobile units,” he said.

The stronger stance of mobile operators such as Globe Telecom and Smart Communications to provide affordable services and applications to support smartphone features, has moved the sales of this mobile gadget category, Yap said. — (FREEMAN)