U Mobile today took the wraps off its revamped flagship store at Berjaya Times Square. What used to be its predominantly customer service outlet on the ground floor is now an experience zone with a smartphone showcase. That’s not all, there’s even a first-of-its-kind dedicated Apple area with iPhones on display. More about this further along.
You may be wondering where the customer service area is, then. It’s now been moved one floor up, with more space, high ceiling and most importantly, more service counters.
Back to the Apple concept store-within-a-store. According to U Mobile CEO Wong Heang Tuck, this Apple-backed and funded concept is a first-of-its-kind in the industry. U Mobile personnel at this area are also Apple-trained, and will be on hand assist customers and answer their iPhone-related queries.
U Mobile chief marketing officer Jasmine Lee said later that the company plans to implement the Apple concept store to at least 5-6 other outlets.
As a young upstart, U Mobile achieved a major milestone when it successfully became the fourth local telco to offer the iPhone, in 2015.
And it did it in typical disruptive U Mobile fashion. It introduced U MicroCredit alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. It was the first ever device financing program offered by a Malaysian telco.
This unique proposition made the premium iPhone accessible to customers and potential customers. Evidently, it’s still the cheapest way to own an iPhone.
It didn’t stop there. It also broke the mould by introducing the first-ever iPhone 6 prepaid plans, with the same rates for postpaid.
The underdog telco currently serves over 5.6 million customers nationwide. It is currently expanding its 4G LTE footprint on the 900MHz band in Johor and Ipoh. This expansion will continue with Penang and the Klang Valley in the coming months.
About two weeks ago, it dropped a bombshell that it was prematurely terminating its RAN sharing agreement with Maxis, which currently provides 2G/3G coverage. The termination will be implemented in stages and is expected to be completed by end 2018.
U Mobile will focus on building its own network, utilizing 2x15MHz of 1800Mhz and 2x5MHz of 900Mhz spectrums which it acquired from MCMC last year.
