One of the leading players who have contributed to this wide usage of cell phones is ‘UniverCell’, a chain of retail outlets in Chennai. Sathish Babu, who started this concept of selling mobile phones, accessories and connections in a showroom has revolutionised the trend in Chennai, waiting to spread all over South India very soon and all over the country in the near future.
Sathish Babu took up a job in Eureka Forbes after completing his graduation with the intention of staying in the company for only 3 months. He ended up climbing the ladder to the level of a divisional manager taking care of sales for entire South India over a period of ten years. But he always nurtured the idea of doing his own business and he took the bold step being inspired by one of his colleagues quitting the company to sell mobile phones in Bangalore. He came to Chennai and first started selling mobile connections door-to-door. He realised that there was no choice available for buying a cell phone and so he decided to open a show room selling mobiles, accessories and connections. There was a lot of ridicule saying that nobody would come and buy mobiles from a showroom. But he believed if he gave customers a nice ambience to shop and if he created awareness of his services through the media he would get a good response. He got a handful of people to work with him through friends and his ideas were well supported by his wife. He worked with zeal in a smart and efficient way to attract customers.
Sathish explained “UniverCell was a name that was coined after a lot of thinking. We wanted the name to be simple and all encompassing, indicating our line of activity. Once the company was formed, we approached leading companies and bought phones in bulk to get discounts and passed it on to the customers, thereby reducing the prices. We brought in loan schemes and tied up with credit card companies for buying mobile phones. We use media and technology to the optimum level by advertising and all our 12 showrooms in the city are connected. If a customer walks in and he does not find what he wants, we look up in our network and organise to deliver the same from whichever store it is available. With tariff rates going down and international brands coming into Chennai, we have grown tremendously. On the lighter side, mobile can be called the third hand or the middle name. We are expanding and in the next few months we are opening stores all over Tamil Nadu”.
Initially, UniverCell faced stiff challenges from the open market, because UniverCell sold mobiles only with bills, incurring taxes. It took a while, but their product authenticity and quality of service enabled them to win over the open market. They were able to persuade customers by providing the right education on the use of mobiles. It was also difficult for them to retain employees. But after a decade into the business, they have managed to retain employees by providing them a healthy environment to work, recognising them and compensating them adequately for their hard work. They started operations with 5 people and have expanded to employ around 300 people today.
When I asked him how they expected their brand name to work in other cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore, he said “I borrow what cricketer, Sir Vivian Richards once said, Form is temporary but class is permanent, we have the class and the expertise to handle this business. We will do well anywhere if we can only make the necessary changes to adapt to the different markets. We are ready for that”.
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