Over the last few months, Cell C has launched numerous aggressively-priced voice and mobile data products – and there is a lot more to come from the company, according to Cell C CEO, Alan Knott-Craig.
Knott-Craig took the reins at Cell C in April 2012, and since then, the company has launched more services and cut more rates than some of its competitors have over the last few years.
Knott-Craig explained that, if you want to grow market share in a competitive market, you have to be innovative, aggressive and first off the mark. “We are relatively small when compared to our competitors, which gives us the ability to be quicker on our feet,” said Knott-Craig.
The Cell C CEO added that there is more to come, saying in a recent interview that the cellular battle has not started yet, and that “when we get into the ring, be careful. Someone is going to get hurt”.
Vodacom and MTN are already battling to keep up with the aggressive pricing and new product offerings from Cell C, and are trying hard to avoid a price war with the company. This is not unexpected.
Knott-Craig said that Vodacom and MTN are following a wait-and-see approach, partly because they have to protect their bottom lines which are ‘significant’.
Alan Knott-Craig
A future of lower margins
Even before Knott-Craig took over as CEO of Cell C, he said that the mobile operator market is moving from a high-margin business to a low-margin, high-volume environment.
With the latest products and price cuts from Cell C, it is clear that Knott-Craig is moving to a low-margin business model.
Knott-Craig confirmed that he is repositioning Cell C to function in a low-margin, high-volume business environment, adding that it is financially sustainable.
“Ultimately all operators will have to do the same,” said Knott-Craig.
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