The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The first independently-owned Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) retail outlet is set to open in Grand Bahama by early October, the newly-privatised carrier yesterday saying its store upgrades had already sparked “a material bump up in sales”.

Marlon Johnson, BTC’s vice-president of marketing, told Tribune Business that the carrier’s first retail ‘franchise’, which will be owned and operated by a Bahamian entrepreneur, is set to act as “a test bed” for plans to roll-out up to 35 such locations within the next 18 months.

Apart from creating entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians, and expanding BTC’s reach to all areas of the country, Mr Johnson said the creation of a “more user friendly” retail format had coincided with an increase in product and services sales.

“We’re on target with the retail roll-out,” Mr Johnson told Tribune Business. “Our latest new store would be Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, and that brings us up to nine major refurbishments or new openings. Our next planned retail opening is Marsh Harbour, which is a new storefront, set for October.”

As for plans to create an independently-owned network of BTC ‘franchise’ stores, Mr Johnson disclosed: “What we’re trying to do is a test bed and pilot on the franchise model.

“That should be scheduled for kick-off in Grand Bahama, either at the end of September or the beginning of October.”

The BTC executive declined to disclose further details on the first independent store, especially the identity of the owner or owners, stressing that several details still needed to be worked out.

However, he emphasised: “It’s safe to say that’s what on the drawing board, and our ambition is to use that to perfect the model, see what works and what doesn’t work. That will enable us to kick it into high gear.

“Our ambition over the next 18 months is to have quite a number of different, independent BTC retail stores, of various types and sizes, throughout the Bahamas.”

Emphasising that independently-owned BTC outlets could range in size from stores to kiosks, and store-within-store concepts, Mr Johnson indicated they would be tailored to fit the communities they served.

“Our initial game plan was to have 13-15 BTC retail locations, and up to 35 independently-owned operations,” he added.

“The idea is two-fold. We want to expand the number of opportunities for Bahamians to participate and be direct partners with BTC, as promised in our business plan. As we expand our business partnerships, we build ties with the local community.

“We also want to expand our reach. There are a lot of areas that are underserved in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands, so we want to ensure persons have access to buy services, whether they sign up for landline, basic Internet or cell phone service.”

Describing retail expansion as “critical” to BTC’s strategy, Mr Johnson told Tribune Business: “We’re running full steam ahead. We managed to pull off nine in less than a year - that’s a phenomenal feat.

“One of the things BTC recognised is that customer access is a big thing. One of the telling things is that as we refurbished stores, and made them more modern with a user-friendly format, we see it reflected in our sales.

“There’s been a material bump-up in sales and footfall throughput, with customer visits increased substantially.”

Explaining the top-line impact, he added: “People are able to determine what they need in a service, and feel more comfortable and confident as they purchase.

“It helps the customer experience, as they have the opportunity to try and buy. It’s also important for us to expand our reach. Access is an important factor in any operation, and we want to enable people to easily reach us in any community. It’s critical to our success, we believe.”