The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is still aiming to increase its "touch-points" across the Bahamas despite expanding to 34 franchise locations.

Leon Williams, its chief executive, said yesterday that the company's continuing franchise roll-out will boost Bahamian entrepreneurship, adding that several former BTC employees have themselves become franchisees.

"We are giving Bahamians an opportunity to develop their own business," he said. "We first targeted some of the former BTC employees. We want to increase the amount of touch points that our customers have so they don't have to drive 10-20 minutes to top-up or buy a phone. We also want to segment our markets to have stores for Creole and Spanish speakers, so the folks can go in and feel like they are home."

Mr Williams added: " After privatisation a lot of our stores were closed, and we are trying to reopen those stores under the franchise models as opposed to the BTC model. On some islands persons have to drive long distances because BTC closed the sites in some of the settlements, and we are trying to get our products closer to those customers."

BTC introduced the franchise concept in 2011. Last weekend, BTC saw the opening of three franchise stores -one in Pinder's Point, one in West End, Grand Bahama, and another in Guana Cay, Abaco.

BTC yesterday hosted executives from Samsung Miami & Latin America after launching the Samsung S8 and S8 Plus last week. "We have had a very good relationship with Samsung over the years," said Mr Williams.

"The Bahamas is a Samsung, android country. We have done well with the S7 and S6, and now we have the S8. We are not going through any third parties. We are going directly to the sources. Our phones are not refurbished; they are directly from the manufacturer."