Largest retailer of cell phones in India: Univercell

Largest retailer of cell phones in India, Univercell was started a decade back with merely five employees and today they are 1000 employee strong and have opened 100 showrooms across South India.

"When I entered the cell phone retail market, my belief in myself was my strongest selling point,” says D Sathish Babu, MD, Univercell, “In 1997 I started out with just five employees and we were mainly dealing with selling phone connections. But it was just a matter a time that I realized that there was a dearth of legal retail outlets for handsets. Customers went to the grey market looking for variety but I gave them retail therapy they could never get at the grey market – a charming ambience, cordial service, phones with warranty and after sales service. This is also the basis of our brand identity”

Despite a competitive market, Univercell continues to grow exponentially, Sathish babu explains, “It is simple, we sell more; we buy more. Because of the volumes we deal in, we are in a position to negotiate with the manufacturers to get the best rates. On some phone models we offer the best price. We sell about 70,000 mobile phones in a month.”

Sathish Babu clarifies that since Univercell is part of the organized sector, it makes a huge difference to the larger picture. He added that, “We recruit for attitude and then train for skills. Our employees go through a training programme by the specific manufacturers; they proceed to on-shop training and finally some soft skill training. Only then are they ready to face a customer. We retain and groom our people so they have a scope for growth within the company.”

“By next year we are targeting on becoming a national presence,” and Sathish Babu does promise that, “This Diwali is going to be the brightest festival of the decade as we intend to offer phones at the lowest price ever in the mobile industry.”

The Hindu - Retail Plus - Sunday, Oct 07, 2007

Univercell has roped in Madhavan as its brand ambassador, a first for a cell phone retailer. This has helped it increase its sales by 40%.

Univercell is generally considered as a little overpriced irrespective of the article in the Hindu, but still it attracts a huge number of customers due its over-all service offering.

It's main modes of promotions are through billboards, Cinema theaters and of course through word-of-mouth.