T-Mobile has begun to visibly differentiate their corporate stores from the indirect channel. The carrier is now forcing dealers to add a new exterior sign, signifying they are an “Authorized Retailer.”
And we mean forcing. T-Mobile has warned the stores that they might be shut down if they fail to put up signs that clearly indicate the type of stores.
While on-line, some are calling these “dunce caps”, it’s another way for T-Mobile to separate themselves from the dealer channel. Last September, T-Mobile “opted out” all their dealers from participating in T-Mobile Tuesdays.
Of course, the question is “why?” – T-Mobile has spent a lot of time, money and effort to ensure dealer stores look and operate like corporate owned stores – so why the change to differentiate?
In the wireless world, there are pros and cons of having dealers vs corporate stores. The pros of dealers are typically less of a cost and faster “launch” times – but the major con is lack of control of the corporate message. The corporate stores are the opposite – easier to control the message, but more expensive and slower to deploy.
In the past, T-Mobile has said they wanted to control all their stores – and leave their prepaid options (originally Metro – and now including Mint and Ultra) to the indirect channel. Perhaps this is another step in cutting back on the dealers for their post-paid accounts.
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