By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: The first of an expected 147 Yes Optus stores to be rolled-out nationwide was officially opened this week in western Sydney’s Westfield Parramatta shopping centre, with the new stores looking to focus on complete consumer communication solutions.
Optus World stores across the country will now be re-branded as Yes Optus outlets over the course of the next three years with a greater concentration on Optus’ many bundled offers and packaged communications solutions.
“Optus stores are no longer just mobile phones stores — they’re network stores” Yes Optus Parramatta store co-franchisee, Lianne Manley, told Current.com.au
“We now do laptops and broadband, we can help you with memory cards and data cables, we can show you how to set your Bluetooth up and much more," she said.
“We are one of only two carriers that can offer the number of products solutions we can, so we want to show that and be sure people are aware of it.”
Co-franchisee Ian Rhynehart told Current.com.au that changing the consumer perception of a phone outlet selling more than just mobiles will be one of the stores greatest tests.
“One of the challenges for us as owners and staff of Optus is to try and change the direction a little bit. We can’t just hang our hat on mobiles because the market’s not getting any bigger,” he said.
On display in the Parramatta store were Cellnet memory cards, Sony Memory Sticks and Hewlett Packard laptops as well as mobile phone accessories and Panasonic, Uniden and Audioline cordless phones.
“We used to be into cordless phones in a big way but now we just want to stock a reasonable amount so that if our customers need a cordless phone upon connection of their home phoneline, we can offer them a solution,” said Manley.
More Yes Optus stores will be rolled-out across Queensland, Victoria and regional New South Wales over the next 10 weeks.