Sol says Telstra “bigger than Apple” as T[Life] store opens without iPhone

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Thursday, 26 June 2008

Page 1 of 3 ! As expected, Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo opened the flagship Melbourne T[Life] Telstra store in Melbourne’s CDB today, briefly showing off the HTC Touch Diamond during his speech. While he answered a question he’d received earlier in the morning about whether Telstra is in a war with Apple or not, on the topic of the iPhone, the head speaker of the nation’s biggest communications company was... silent. Although he did say “we’re bigger than Apple”. Read on. Telstra’s T[Life] stores, well known to be inspired by the Apple store retail experience, have opened in four locations across Melbourne, with the massive Melbourne CBD store spanning two levels with dozens of technologies on display, ready to test and trial. The store is crowned with a giant 22 metre x 2.5 metre LCD screen, the largest of its type in Australia, which Telstra says “will become a landmark for the Melbourne CBD.” Telstra’s Consumer Marketing and Channels Group Managing Director, David Moffatt said the store created a “world-class retailing experience” for consumers and business customers and is equivalent in size to seven tennis courts. Moffatt explained that: “The store has two levels that encompass a dedicated area for business customers called [my]business; [my]place offers free one-on-one expert advice; and [my]networked home where customers can see for themselves how to better connect their life at home and while on the move.” “The store also features an interactive zone to explore and play with over 100 live and working devices, the latest technology where customers can interact with future products and a TelePresence meeting room for face-to-face state of the art video conferencing,” said Moffatt. As with the Apple store, free daily training is on offer in the 50 seat “auditorium” and one-on-one sessions with experts are also available. The T[Life] press release evokes the style of New York by saying that the store brings “a touch of Times square meets 5th Avenue” to the corner of Bourke and Swanston Streets, and it’s definitely an impressive retail experience. No, there were no enormous queues or crowds waiting to get in, as Telstra doesn’t have the Apple mystique, although the media launch itself was certainly packed to the brim with media guests, cameras, film crews, store staff and Telstra executives. The four store openings now bring the number of T[Life] stores to five, starting with the Sydney store, and now joined by Melbourne CBD, Chadstone, Doncaster and Geelong, with store staff having undergone 14 to 18 weeks of training in an attempt to be ready to answer any and all questions consumers might have about technologies Telstra sells. In addition, the QR code “2D barcode” technology was unveiled, with a separate story to come, with 2D barcodes set to appear in magazines, newspapers and more from July. So what did Sol Trujillo say about being “bigger than Apple”, and who said what about the iPhone? Continued on page 2. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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