“Cell phone firms still enjoy happy days amid downturn” |
| Cell phone firms still enjoy happy days amid downturn Posted: 01 Oct 2010 10:20 PM PDT Date published: 10/2/2010 IT TURNS OUT there's a "Happy Days" ringtone for your cell phone. The carefree, limitless-possibilities "American Graffiti" and "Happy Days" feeling of the '50s and early '60s was symbolized locally by the old Hot Shoppes, a Fredericksburg teen hangout. Now, space a stone's throw from where the Hot Shoppes once stood is about to become the area's largest cell phone store ever--at a time when things are anything but carefree, and possibilities seem pretty limited. When the recession began, I found myself in something of a crisis of conscience. How could I write about pricey cell phones and data plans when so many Americans were out of work? I felt like Marie Antoinette saying "Let them eat cake." I had every expectation of being yanked off the gadget beat and put on the soup-line beat. But it seems that despite my squeamishness, I made the right choice. Smart-phone sales and sales of data plans are zooming through the stratosphere, even as unemployment hovers near 10 percent. The 4,000-square-foot store is set to open Oct. 22 at the Fredericksburg Shopping Center off U.S. 1 near James Monroe High School. It will be one of 23 Cellular Sales of Knoxville stores in Virginia and one of 300 of the chain's stores in America. Cellular Sales of Knoxville is expanding aggressively, planning to open its 400th store by year's end. It's an authorized premium Verizon Wireless dealer. And, of course, smaller Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint stores seem to be springing up on every corner. Melanie Ortel, a Verizon Wireless spokesperson, says the company likes the Fredericksburg area, which had been rapidly growing in population and affluence before the recession, and is weathering the downturn better than many localities due to its proximity to Washington. "We are committed to the market," Ortel said. "We've seen strong growth in customers' needs there, and it's natural we would have a successful agent helping us to expand out footprint in the area." She also said it makes sense that smart-phone sales are taking off during an economic downturn, because they make business people more productive and competitive. In addition, my own theory is that if people can't afford a new sports car or a new house or don't feel ready to make a commitment to payments for those things, the latest smart phone with all the bells and whistles becomes a status symbol they can still afford and a toy they can proudly show off. So, many people's willingness to buy pricey phones is a sign that many of us--including the businesses that buy so many smart phones for employees--expect a turnaround soon. Now, because young people in particular are fascinated by cell phones, the area where the Hot Shoppes once stood will return to being a popular place for teens. Michael Zitz: 540/846-5163
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