Sure has beaten the gloomy outlook on the UK
high street by reporting strong Christmas sales and great consumer
feedback.
The company’s High Street store saw an increase
in sales compared to the same period in 2006, when it also reported
strong performance. This is in stark contrast to the UK where many
well-known names, including Next and Marks & Spencer, have
recently reported falling sales and have looked to slash prices to
muster up business.
Sure’s Marketing director, Mark Briers said
that the company have been selling thousands of the latest handsets
since early November and especially in the final few days in the
run up to Christmas.
“From a retail perspective, Sure’s new mobile
tariffs have continued to go from strength to strength. The
island’s appetite for mobile technology remains high and we are at
the forefront. The customers here in Guernsey love the access to
the mobile internet and many have been buying new handsets and
using the free access we offered as a Christmas incentive.” he
said.
“It is obviously a crucial sales period for us
so we worked very hard in the run-up to Christmas to keep our
product offering fresh. The whole brand philosophy is that
customers who choose Sure get more of what they want, and we made
sure that was clear in the packages we were offering.”
“We had a number of Christmas promotions that
were well received, alongside our current products such as the Pay
As You Go Blackberry package. Our offer of free mobile internet,
which has been running since November and extends to the end of
March, was very popular.”
If islanders do continue to shop online in
greater numbers next year Cable & Wireless will also be helping
them. The company is currently working to double broadband speeds
in the island which will make online shopping, and lots of other
activities, faster and easier in future.
Thousands of islanders also took advantage of
Cable & Wireless’ Christmas promotions.
More than 90,000 local calls were made for free
over three days during the festive period. New Year’s Day proved
particularly popular, with nearly 33,000 calls made as islanders
phoned friends and relatives to wish them a happy 2008. Another
58,000 calls free local calls were made on Christmas Day and Boxing
Day.
Mr Briers said the offer was the company’s
Christmas gift to islanders.
“For a number of years now we have provided
free calls on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and more recently
extended this to include New Year’s Day. We are delighted that so
many islanders were able to take advantage of this,” he said.
Also
popular was the company’s free Santa line, which provided festive
children’s stories for the 12 days up to and including 25 December.
More than 4,800 calls were received from Guernsey, and another 568
from Jersey and Isle of Man, where the service was being offered
for the first time.