Mobile gadget sales post rebound in 2012

CEBU, Philippines -  Mobile gadget sales saw a strong rebound this year, replacing fears of a saturation level.

One of the country’s largest retailers and distributors of mobile gadgets, Junrex Cellphones and Accessories Inc., president Jun Yap said that the fast turnover of technology updates among mobile manufacturers has heightened the dynamism of the market this year, from a slow paced sales movement last year.

"We thought the market has peaked and reached the level of saturation last year but, technology updates in the mobile gadgets has paved the way for market rebound," said Yap.

This time he said people are buying mobile gadgets not for style but also more on functionality.

For Junrex alone, with its 23 outlets, it registered a 15 percent growth year-to-date.

Yap, who is also the president of Philippine Retailers Association (PRA-Cebu), said that aside from the smartphones, sales growth is also driven by the fast disposal of tablets.

In fact, Junrex which is the exclusive distributor of broadband devices in Central Visayas, noted an increase of SmartBro prepaid stick users with average sales volume of 800 pieces a month.

"People are mobile now. The fast movement of technology and connectivity has driven a lively growth for the industry," Yap stressed.

In the past, while consumers were more conscious about style and cost of a gadget, this time he reiterated, functionality and technology feature is far more important.

Moreover, he added that gadget manufacturers especially those that trail blazed with the technology have benefited the rebound, while those that do not innovate are "left behind."

Despite the popularity of smartphones and gadgets, Yap mentioned that China-made cellphones, or those targeted for the mainstream market are still moving.

The upswing market performance in mobile gadgets is expected to continue in the next few years as technology innovation is also moving much faster now, Yap concluded.  (FREEMAN)