Most segments going strongly, says Celcom

 

Celcom's only concern for now is the foreign workers segment, as their number in Malaysia could reduce as a result of a slower economy and fewer jobs.

CELCOM (Malaysia) Bhd, the country's second largest mobile operator, sees "no sign of weakness" in its first quarter 2009 results and expects to continue its growth for the rest of this year.

"There's no sign of weakening in almost all segments. Our youth segment is overwhelmingly strong, our professional and corporate segment is strong," said its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He was speaking to the reporters after the launch of new promotion, dubbed "Celcom A Handbag a Day, Everyday" campaign.

Shazalli said his only concern for now is the foreign workers segment, as the number of foreign workers in the country could reduce as a result of a slower economy and fewer jobs.

"We are monitoring this segment, especially the Indonesian workers segment, very closely. Fortunately, we are not predominantly strong in this area," he said.

The company launched Sukses last year, a prepaid package customised for Indonesians. Prior to the launch, it had less than 10 per cent share in the segment. Today, it has more than 10 per cent share.

The new campaign allows customers to win one Be&D handbag worth more than RM6,000 a day over a 100-day period.

It is open to all Celcom postpaid retail customers, excluding postpaid enterprise customers.

To take part in it, all the customer needs to do is make a voice call, video call, or IDD call from Malaysia during the promotion hours, which is from noon to 7.59pm daily.

Each call must exceed 3 minutes and above to be considered as one eligible entry. In short, the more calls a customer makes during that period, the higher the chances that they will walk away with the designer handbag.

Currently about half of Celcom's postpaid users are women, said Shazalli.

The company said the campaign is part of its initiative to reward its loyal postpaid customers for their support.

"We realised that female customers were more attuned to the virtual world. They won't be excited when you cut tariff or give away gadgets. The best way to draw their attention is handbag and shoes."

It also hopes the campaign will encourage customers to talk more, which will eventually help the company to grow its average revenue per user (ARPU).

"We also hope that our customers will talk more, and at the same time, we also hope to get few more new customers to join us," said senior vice-president Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin.

The campaign came around 10 months after it launched its "controversial" 100 days 100 cars contest, which had to be called off as it did not meet authorities' requirement.

"We have consulted with various bodies, the Celcom A Handbag a Day, Everyday campaign is 'halal'," he said.

Be&D handbags are available in Shuz, a high-end couture handbag boutique located at Suria KLCC that carries a number of other luxury brands such as Sergio Rossi and Yves St Laurent.

Also present was Shuz boutique manager Farah Kasim.