AF Smith, Digicel partner to become one-stop shop for Apple products and services

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Anyone looking to purchase an iPhone in Bermuda can now get the phone, the service and their warranty honoured all in one place thanks to a new partnership between AF Smith and Digicel.

Digicel announced yesterday that AF Smith is a newly authorised Digicel dealer. That means customers can now buy Apple products at either of the company’s Hamilton stores and get them activated with Digicel service right on site.

Similar to partnerships between retailers and cell phone providers in the UK and US, signing up for a service plan at the time of purchasing the phone will save customers money.

“When you look at the US or even providers in the UK who do similar, there is a reduced price. If you come in and purchase an iPhone of iPad without Digicel service, you’ll pay the normal rate. Whereas, taking up the Digicel service agreement will reduce the price,” said Shane McDonnell, sales director for Digicel Bermuda. “So on a two-year agreement, you’ll see a significant reduction on the price of the phone.”

For example, AF Smith is selling the 16 GB iPhone 4s for $829, but add on Digicel’s postpaid “smartphone plan” and it drops the price to $529. Add on Digicel’s postpaid “ultimate unlimited plan” and the price drops even further to $499.

“You can actually get a much better rate on your phone if you sign up with a Digicel plan at the same time,” said Karl Boissonneault, AF Smith vice president.

Both AF Smith on Tumkins Lane and AF Smith Express on Reid Street already offer Digicel top-ups and prepaid internet packages. Mr Boissonneault said this is just the next Logical step in their partnership with Digicel.

“If a customer comes in and buys an iPad with 4G capabilities, clearly, he’s going to want to put data on it. Now we can offer those data plans here so he doesn’t have to leave AF Smith and then go to Digicel for their service.

“When people buy iPhones or iPads, they’re anxious to use it right away,” Mr Boissonneault added. “So the convenience of being able to set up that service when they’re buying their phone is something they’re looking for. Especially if you’re buying your phone at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. It’s one stop shop — we can do it all here.”

And that one-stop-shop concept is for retail consumers and corporate customers alike.

“We have mutual corporate customers. So if one would come to AF Smith and say, we’re interested in getting 20 iPhones from you, if they’re an existing Digicel customer, they’d work directly with us to facilitate that purchase. If they’re not a Digicel customer, so say it’s a new reinsurance company coming to the Island and AF Smith is in decking out their new office and they want to get some iPhones, we’d partner to provide the service there as well,” Mr McDonnell said.

“Some 95 percent of their business comes from corporate customers,” Mr Boissonneault said. “So for us, it’s a cross selling opportunity. AF Smith as a company, really our goal is to position ourselves as a technology company — we’re past the stage of just selling office supplies, office equipment and office furniture. It’s really about selling workplace solutions.”

Another advantage for both AF Smith’s retail and corporate consumers, Mr Boissonneault says is that they are one of only three Authorized Apple Resellers, which means they are able to fulfil warrantees and provide service.

The company currently has the iPhone 4s in stock, but is still waiting on Apple to distribute the iPhone 5 to this region. They hope to have them in stock sometime in the next couple of weeks.

While some other retailers on the Island have been selling the iPhone 5 for some time, many of them are “grey market” retailers meaning if anything goes wrong with the device or if something breaks and needs service, they likely cannot help you.

But AF Smith says they can. And they say they’re the only company on the Island who has an Apple specialist that’s dedicated to corporate customers.

“So if a large law firm or insurance company for example, buys iPads or iPhones — it’s not a question of us just delivering them and getting them cell phone service,” said Mr Boissonneault. “We can also help them configure the devices on their network, we can train their staff, we can make recommendations on certain types of applications, we can set up the devices so they all sync together. There are a number of things we can do.”

They can also help troubleshoot server issues for companies wanting to migrate away from the BlackBerry

“We have two network analysts one of them is certified on Apple’s operating systems. We also have a certified Mac technician — we’re the only one in Bermuda to actually have an ACMT on board,” he added.

Both companies say they’re noticing more and more corporate customers looking into giving up the BlackBerry and switching their employees over to iPhone or Android.

“BlackBerry has been a stable product across Bermuda, but we’re starting to see people move to other smartphones,” Mr McDonnell said.

“We are seeing a trend of retail and corporate customers looking to migrate — not in mass amounts, but there’s definitely a trend happening,” he said. “We used to get an inquiry or two a week, but now, we’re getting multiple enquiries per day on iPhones and other phones like the Samsung Galaxy III.

“Apple has its own fan base and it’s still growing — we see that in Bermuda now. So having this partnership and our customers being able to purchase from AF Smith makes life easier for our customers.”

More information on products and pricing can be found at afsmith.bm or digicelbermuda.com.

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