Cellular phones still top items

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): "I was really mad," a chum from my university days said to me recently as we lunched together after so many years. He was talking about Christine, his only daughter, who is a second-year senior high school student. The young girl had decided that, for her improved grades, her father must give her a reward of her own choice: a new cellular phone.

"She was already using the best cellular phone in the house, but she wanted a new Nokia because everyone in her gang had bought that model."

We all know that, almost immediately after it became available here, the cellular phone has hardly been regarded just as a communication tool. Some of us buy a cellular phone and then use it in its original configuration for many years. We do not change it until it really breaks apart. We do not even bother to upgrade the software or create our own unique ringing tone. We just use it as it is.

However, we are the small minority. The rest seem to regard cell phones as status symbols. If they cannot afford a Jaguar Sovereign 4.0, at least they can buy the most expensive cellular phone and show it off in public.

Even if the cellular phone is not really considered a status symbol, it has become part of fashion, an accessory. That is also why the cellular phone comes in various colors and with add-ons.

A recent survey by the University of Hong Kong revealed some interesting facts about cellular phone users in the territory. As reported by Xinhuanet, the study found that 75 percent of its 1,500 respondents change their cellular phone at least once a year. Around 7.4 percent of all respondents change their cell phones between four to 10 times each year. Almost two-fifths of them do so to get a more trendy-looking cellular phone rather than to take advantage of the new technological features.

What crisis?

What about Indonesia, which has been plagued with crisis after crisis? When it comes to buying new cell phones, it seems that Indonesians -- including Christine -- are oblivious to any crisis, and you would be forced to agree with this if you visited Roxy Mas in Jakarta, a place regarded as the largest shopping center for cell phones and accessories in Indonesia.

Further proof of the vibrant cellular phone market in this country might be the rapid growth of a company called Trikomsel. Started in 1996, it has become one of the three biggest cellular phone distributors in the country. In five short years, it has opened almost 100 retail cellular phone outlets, known as OKE Shops, in more than 14 cities and towns across Indonesia.

Through these shops and outlets, the company offers all brands of cell phones -- Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel, Phillips, Samsung and Sagem. It also offers a very broad range of accessories including batteries, headsets, add-ons and clip-ons.

To accommodate consumers' perpetual thirst for the latest and the greatest, Trikomsel also boasts a continuously trained, knowledgeable sales force that can answer a lot of questions concerning cell phones -- including the latest models.

"We even have a library that contains all cellular phone models and their documentation. Everyone can use the resources. They can borrow a new unit for two or three days and learn about all its features from the manual and other supporting material," explained Rara Wilis, Trikomsel's public relations manager, in an interview recently.

And here is another interesting fact: as a distributor, the company only sells products that are accompanied with a warranty. It obtains these products directly from their respective cellular phone makers. As a result, the prices at these retail outlets can be up to 50 percent higher than the prices in the gray market, where the products are imported by traders and therefore do not come with a warranty.

The fact that Trikomsel has been able to expand its business so fast -- despite the crises -- shows that Indonesian consumers not only buy a lot of new cellular phones and accessories, but a large majority of them also buy products that come with a warranty -- which means a higher price tag.

"Cell phones are delicate devices," explained Rara. "Those who buy new cell phones mostly come from the well-educated, mid to high income groups. They want to make sure they can have their cellular phone fixed if it should ever malfunction."

As an authorized distributor, Trikomsel is also under obligation to provide repair services for all the cellular phone brands and models that it carries. "We have the technicians and the expensive testing equipment for every brand that we sell," said Rara. The point is, all of these investments would not have been possible in a slow marketplace.

Services too

The company, which is run by professionals and is free from managerial interference by its owner, also realizes that it could not maintain the rate of growth simply by selling the hardware. It has extended its business into the area of services as well. In fact, its ISP, called OKE Net, is scheduled for a soft launch on Monday.

An interesting feature of this ISP is that it allows users to access the Internet using a prepaid access service. So, for example, a hotel guest can buy a starter kit and a voucher at any OKE Shop outlet and then access the Internet from their hotel room. And they will have better control over their Internet expenses.

Another service that Trikomsel has already made available is what it calls OKE SMS. Using their cell phones, members can send SMS questions to this service, and they will receive a wide variety of information, including the names of restaurants that are offering special discounts and what movies are showing at which theaters.

The rapid growth of a company like Trikomsel can indeed be regarded as testimony that the cellular phone business continues to flourish in Indonesia. It can also be seen as another strong indication that the mid and high income brackets have not been affected by the crisis.

Still talking about cell phones, the same survey by the University of Hong Kong also uncovered a very interesting phenomenon. Respondents who consider themselves members of the elite said that they refrain from using their cell phones at social functions. Isn't it intriguing that, in a place where 70 percent of the people use cell phones, talking on a cellular phone in a public place is beginning to be regarded as "unsophisticated"? (zatni@cbn.net.id)