SunCom to expand local stores

[ComicalMoodyDan]

SunCom to expand local stores

Cellular telephone service provider SunCom Wireless will open six stores in the Carolinas this week, including locations in Charlotte and Matthews.

Stores also are slated for Asheville, as well as Myrtle Beach and Simpsonville, S.C.

The local stores will be at 108 S. Sharon Amity Road, 901 Kings Drive and 15080 Idlewild Road.

The six stores represent the first phase of the company's plan to open 20 branches in the Carolinas over the next 12 months.

"SunCom is committed to being a different kind of wireless company -- a company completely designed around our customers' needs," says Emilio Echave, senior vice president of operations of Berwyn, Pa.-based SunCom Wireless. "The addition of these new stores supports this commitment by providing more convenient store locations and customer-friendly merchandising to ensure that our customers receive the best service possible."

SunCom, whose service area is concentrated primarily in the Carolinas, recently hit the local market with a $30 million advertising blitz featuring singer Harry Connick Jr. to boost brand recognition

The company's local promotional efforts include a three-year sponsorship agreement with the Charlotte Checkers this year. Industry insiders peg the value of the deal at $25,000 to $50,000 per year.

SunCom quickly established a presence in the Carolinas in 2004, after assuming control of AT&T Wireless customers, including more than 200,000 in North Carolina.

The company had already been serving cities in eastern North Carolina.

It was able to broaden its turf after Cingular Wireless cut a deal to acquire AT&T Wireless, according to a company spokeswoman.

As part of that arrangement, Cingular spun off AT&T assets in Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and other central N.C. communities to SunCom's parent company, Triton PCS.

Triton also picked up AT&T Wireless customers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In addition, Cingular paid Triton $175 million in cash. In return, Cingular got all of Triton's customers in Virginia.

Locally, SunCom operates a small sales office from 6,000 square feet in SouthPark's Carnegie VIII building, an operation that was previously an AT&T office.

SunCom provides service in an area covering 14.3 million people in the Southeastern United States and 4 million people in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

SunCom to expand local stores

[scottb]

Wirelessly posted (Samsung i730: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; PPC; 240x320))

Here in Greensboro, SunCom recently had a bit of a problem. I think they were supposed to be transferring people over from AT&T and someone must have been napping at the controls. All the customers had no service at all for at least a day.