Samsung Arrives in Belize; Cellular World Official Distributor, Service Center
The cellular phone industry in Belize has big news today as electronic giant Samsung announced its official presence in Belize. The worldwide brand is partnering with Cellular World as the official Samsung Distributor and Service Center for the country. But what does this mean for device users? That’s what News Five’s Duane Moody found out at a launch held this morning at the Radisson.
Duane Moody, Reporting
It was in great style today that Samsung launched its official presence in Belize’s cellular phone industry. It comes in the form of a partnership with Cellular World which has been awarded as the authorised Samsung Distributorship and Service Center for Belize.
Allan Barrios
Allan Barrios, Regional Product Manager, Samsung Latin America
“The customer journey is going to be ensured from the beginning to the end. The official products, the certified products are going to be available for Belizeans to purchase. The experience in the point of sales is also going to be overseen. We are going to have our marketing department overseeing how the products are being displayed, how the products are being shown to the customers. Sometimes thing happens with your device, some issues after sales. It is also going to be covered now with official parts, official certified technicians. That’s what we are meaning now with one year local warranty.”
But does having a local dealer translate into reduced prices on Samsung electronic devices for Belizeans?
Karan Sabnani
Karan Sabnani, Director, Cellular World
“Being the distributor, Samsung has the agreement with us and we have the agreement with the resellers. So we have done a unique approach on our distribution whereby we are standardising the prices. We are hoping that helps us to conquer the informal market whereby people are: number one, they are sure that you are not getting refurbished, used items; number two, you know you are buying at the right price; and number three, peace of mind.”
Allan Barrios
“Samsung usually follows a timeline for launches, but as soon as the products are available for our region, they are going to be available for Belize as well. And the price structure, the price offers; that’s what this partnership also means. We will be able to review and work together with Cellular World and the resellers on offers. For example: seasonality offers, clearance offers. What this means is that we are going to provide more value for the customer’s money because now you are going to have peace of mind that you are purchasing an official Samsung product from an official distributor. So more value for you.”
There is an unofficial market for those who repair and sell Samsung products; it’s not an issue that is exclusive to Belize, but it is expected to change with this move. Cellular World Director Karan Sabnani says that CW has since partnered with a number of businesses, sellers of Samsung devices across the country, to ensure that original Samsung-certified electronics are in their stores. So if you purchase these devices, you too can benefit from the warranty.
Karan Sabnani
“There is a very informal channel of sales. We are hoping bringing a one year warranty is equivalent to having a peace of mind and we are hoping to eventually get the Belizean consumer to buy into this concept and to understand now that it is new for Belize, but this is something that happens everywhere else in our region so we are proud to offer this now to our local consumer. Tackling informal markets is why we have gone with strategic partners so that we have forty-two locations as we roll out today nationwide from north to south, including the cayes and we plan to grow the partnerships as we go along so that it can become a commodity that is easy to find and an experience that’s easy to enjoy. Currently with COVID, the entire world, all items, especially consumer electronics has a global shortage. However, our partners at Samsung we have discussed this very thoroughly to ensure that we can meet the demand because we want everyone to enjoy this warranty; enjoy this awesome experience. So we are well-prepared and you can start as of today with all our partners and they are all fully stocked and ready to go.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
