Sony Ericsson to top Iran`s mobile market by prioritizing customers: national manager

“We are following two paths in the Iranian mobile market. We are giving emphasis to our clients, we are offering the services they deserve whether in sale or after sale services,” Osamah Hamdan told Irans mobile news agency (Mobna).
“Sony Ericsson” has set up an elaborate stall in the 9th international exhibition of telecommunications, information technology and networking in Tehran.
“Sony Ericsson” Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories and PC-cards.
The brand has been officially introduced into the Iranian market in the turn of the millennium and according to the companys estimates it has some 30 percent of the Iranian mobile set market, making it second after the Finnish based Nokia.
It has showcased its top mobile sets including the much anticipated top of line XPERIA X1 set, watches and Bluetooth devices.
“The second path we are pursuing is to branch out in Iran. You see we are currently concentrating in Tehran, the capital, but Iran is a vast country, so for the time being we have established branches in Isfahan (central) and Mashhad (northeast),” he added.
Hamdan elaborated that “Sony Ericsson” clientele should expect good customer services plus reliable warranty when purchasing from the four authorized distributors in Iran.   
He said that Pars Citadel, Pars Comtel and Pars Nikatel are the authorized distributor for “Sony Ericsson” mobile sets and Namdaran is the sole distributor for “Sony Ericsson” accessories.
Iranian mobile market is plagued with smuggled phones which are offered cheaper than the ones sold through authorized dealer, but the customers risk purchasing sets with faulty parts. They customers will also receive no after sale services.  
“The best way to combat smuggled mobile sets is to teach and educate people not to purchase sets from non-authorized dealers,” Hamdan advised.
“They have to become aware that though they may save some money at first but they will not get the set with original parts nor they will have any customer service centers to resort to,” he added.
“Our sets are fully equipped with Persian fonts, thus the customers should not worry about sending messages in their own language,” Hamdan said.
Iran currently levies 25 percent on the imported mobile sets, which the experts believe has not helped the surge in the smuggled mobile sets in the Iranian market.
Importers used to pay four percent import tariff, but the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads government decided to raise it to 60 percent claiming it would help the domestic mobile set industry.
Later the government found out that its scheme was not successful and has contributed to the sky rocketing of smuggled set.
Despite the current 25 percent tariff, the experts believe that levying 10 percent is suitable for the authorized importers and will eliminate the urge of purchasing smuggled sets.
    “Iran has the highest import tariffs in the region but I do not that it is the main factor contributing to customers inclining towards smuggled sets. As I said educating customers about the advantages of buying from authorized dealers is the best solution in combating smuggled phones,” Hamdan said.
He said that he projected selling around a million mobile set for 2008. 
Established in 2001 “Sony Ericsson” is a joint venture of Sony Corporation and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson with global corporate functions located in London, the company employs over 7,500 people worldwide, including R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China and the US.
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