By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
BLACKBERY Ltd., the company that revolutionized smartphones for professionals and enterprises, is bent on reviving its market share in the Philippines.
In an interview with Nicholas Mastroianni, BlackBerry regional head of channels and distribution for Asia Pacific, he said the company has tied up with the leading carriers in the country—Smart Communication and Globe Telecom—to offer its phones under postpaid plans.
He added that the company will also be selling open-line phones through its exclusive distributor MemoXpress, a leading cell-phone retailer that has a wide network of stores nationwide.
These partnerships and distribution channels will “hopefully see our business double than last year’s,” or about 40 percent, across devices, enterprise solutions and special services.
He said the company’s business in the Philippines grew by 20 percent to 30 percent in the first quarter of 2015 over last year’s, although he declined to reveal total sales of devices and services.
“We’re doing a multipronged approach in the Philippines both by carrier, open distribution and Web. Web seems to have the best reach in the market, so we are actively going on things like we’re advertising on the social platforms, you’re seeing us on e-trading sites and working with bloggers and tech people. Our biggest challenge is to show the OS [operating system] works, it has an ecosystem, it has progressed. We have our partnership with MemoXpress, where we educated and trained the frontline staff on the selling points of the OS and the device.”
BlackBerry prides itself as being the most secure mobile device in the market, such that heads of state, like US President Barack Obama, continue to use it, as well as the military and transport services.
But slick marketing and innovative designs by other smartphone makers, like Apple and Samsung, have slowly chipped at BlackBerry’s market leadership worldwide.
Mastroianni also dismisses death knells for BlackBerry, probably Canada’s flagship brand and best export. Recent news reports have it that the company would be sold to Microsoft. The company has also laid off an unspecified number of employees across the devices, software and phone apps departments.
“There’s too much value in the brand for it to go away. It has so many strong suits there and so many complements there,” he stressed.
He added that the company has been hiring employees in the areas “where it’s going” and has made a few acquisitions in the last months of companies to boost its services—a sure sign that BlackBerry isn’t going away anytime soon. The company bought Secusmart GmbH, a voice and data-encryption firm; and Movirtu, a virtual SIM solutions company in 2014. In April BlackBerry also bought WatchDox Ltd., a company that made enterprise data sync and share apps.
The focus of the company’s marketing campaign for its devices in the Philippines are the “new power users,” he said, those who value productivity and security in their communications, whether it be voice, e-mail, or sharing of documents.
Other than its devices, BlackBerry is also looking forward to make more inroads on enterprises, where its software and services may be used across any mobile platform.
Three phones that will be sold in the Philippines is the newly launched Leap (P13,490), which the company considers as its “entry- level” phone for new professionals and junior executives; the BlackBerry Classic (P20,000), a throwback to its raised qwerty keyboard devices; and the Passport (P30,000).
Globe will be the first to launch the BB Leap, which features the latest 10.3.1 operating system, a 5-inch HD display and over 24 hours of battery life.
“With an all-touch screen, BlackBerry Leap rounds out our portfolio of BlackBerry 10 devices, offering an affordable choice to mobile professionals, who require a smartphone that safeguards sensitive communications and keeps them productive,” said Cameron Vernest, managing director, BlackBerry Philippines.
The company, likewise, announced an exclusive prepaid mobile Internet promotion with Globe, available to customers who buy a BB10 smartphone from MemoXpress.
Customers buying a new BB Leap are entitled to a free Globe prepaid SIM offering 700-MB mobile Internet per month for the first three months. The offer is also available to those who buy a BB Z3 smartphone. Those buying a BB Classic or Passport will be eligible for a free 1GB mobile Internet plan for the first two months.
BlackBerry reported a turnaround in its finances for the fourth quarter in 2014, surprising many analysts. It posted $28 million in profit, a reversal from the $148-million net loss in the same period in 2013. It also recorded a 20-percent increase in software revenue to $67 million in the last quarter of 2014. The company was founded in Waterloo, Ontario, in 1984 as Research in Motion.