It's tech show and tell over sell

By PETER GRIFFIN

Telecom is reserving prime real estate in busy shopping malls around the country as it emphasises showcasing technology over flogging phones.

A gleaming alcove lined with plasma screen TVs and computer terminals now greets shoppers in St Lukes shopping mall, where the first showcase store has been built - directly opposite rival Vodafone.

The idea, says Telecom Mobile's general manager Kevin Kenrick, is to have outlets were customers can learn about the advances of high-speed Jetstream internet or the 027 network but will not feel pressured to buy anything.

"If you're a retailer it's sell or die, but here we'll demonstrate and showcase. We'll make some sales but that's not the main priority," he said.

The stores are expensive to build and run so only a handful will be opened - two in Auckland, and one each in Wellington and Christchurch.

While Telecom has a network of stores and dealer outlets, they have traditionally been based around mobile phone sales, overlooking the rest of the increasingly integrated product line-up, which now features more internet services and broadband packages. Passersby will also be able to send video messages and email from terminals in the stores.

Advising Telecom in its retail shake-up has been former Warehouse chief executive Greg Muir.

"Telecom figured out the importance of retailing long before I arrived. The rationale for this is twofold: to generate sales opportunities and to demonstrate integration [of broadband and mobile]."

Muir, who joined Telecom on a short-term contract in August, will stay until Christmas.

Kenrick said "knock down" versions of the showcase stores might be built in the outlets of partners such as Noel Leeming.

Telecom's flat-rate text messaging plan capped at $10 a month had been successful in winning mobile customers from Vodafone. The latest customer numbers would be released this month.

While the new stores push the integration theme, that story falls apart when you look to take your 027 mobile overseas. The names of dozens of countries that Telecom has mobile roaming agreements with are emblazoned on the wall of its new store, but the reality is that Telecom's network is compatible with those in just a handful of countries.

For Europe-bound customers in particular, Telecom usually equips them with a GSM phone - the standard Vodafone uses worldwide.