Brightstar launches global cellphone accessories business

Stuart Corner
Friday, 13 June 2008 10:43

IT Industry - Strategy

Telstra’s exclusive supplier of cellphones, US based Brightstar Corp, has set up a new venture to distribute mobile phone accessories, and Australia will be one of the first countries in which it will operate.

Brightstar is one of the largest wireless device distribution and supply chain solutions companies in the world. Its new company, Brightstar Accessories headquartered in Miami, will “focus on the procurement, marketing, sales and distribution of innovative mobile device accessories to operator, retail and dealer customers worldwide. It will be headed by Morten Steen-Jorgensen, the former president of GN Mobile/Jabra, a global provider of wired and Bluetooth headsets.

The company will operate in Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Australia initially and will later expand into Europe. It has not indicated whose products it wil represent.

Brightstar chairman, CEO & president, R Marcelo Claure, said: "Worldwide, accessories continue to be a growing part of the wireless marketplace. As devices become more sophisticated and data-centric, the need for high level accessory solutions becomes increasingly critical.” According to a report from ABI Research in February 2008, mobile phone accessory worldwide sales in 2008 will exceed $US40 billion and sales are expected to double by 2012.

Steen-Jorgensen said: “we will lead the charge in providing the highest quality and largest product portfolio in the industry, serving both our supplier partners and over 160,000 points of sale around the world."

Telstra named Brightstar as its exclusive cellphone supplier in October 2005, shortly after Sol Trujillo became CEO.  The move sparked considerable adverse publicity because Trujillo and Brightstar head, Claure, had a pre-existing business relationship, forcing Telstra to refute allegations of impropriety.