Ellis, Bain spring forward with cell-phone business
Jason Ellis had visited many stores selling cell phones, and he was sure he could do better.
Ellis, now president and chief executive officer of Spring Communications (the Spring Retail Group), didn't think most cell phone distributors were doing their national carriers any favors. Stores were full of staff who were pushy and, at the same time, lacked knowledge. True customer service was rare.
So in April 2001, Ellis and some partners founded Spring Mobile as a different kind of cell-phone retailer, one whose primary goal was providing a remarkable retail experience for customers.
That model was successful and, in time, Ellis headed a small empire of 76 Spring Mobile stores in four states. But he still was on the lookout for new opportunities. He soon found one in selling Apple products, which historically have been sold mainly online or through the company's 200 corporate stores.
To run that business unit, Simply Mac, Ellis brought in Steve Bain, who serves as president of that unit of the company and chief operating officer of the Spring Retail Group. Bain and Ellis approached Apple, eventually convincing the company to let them start up what Bain calls "a new form of consumer retailing."
Since its founding in 2006, Simply Mac has expanded to three stores and 45 employees. The stores' data suggest that 71 percent of the customers that bought an Apple computer from Simply Mac had previously been PC users — a figure that handily beats Apple's corporate stores.
Comments
- Sports reflect, affect ethics 5:04 p.m.
- Common phrases rooted in scripture 5:04 p.m.
- Season in bloom with the Jesse tree 5:04 p.m.
- Muslims quick to respond to Ft. Hood 5:04 p.m.
- Sermons give time, place for tattoos 5:04 p.m.
- Utah religion in the news 5:04 p.m.
- Religion news around the world 5:04 p.m.
- 5 'house church' leaders sentenced 5:04 p.m.
- Think before buying trendy pet 5:04 p.m.
- Unhappy wife wants husband out 5:04 p.m.
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
263 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
211 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
202 - Bronco, Kyle rubber match
139 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
133 - Boys basketball rankings
126 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
112 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
106 - Hall, Johnson matchup key
102
I wanted to tell them not to go. I dropped subtle hints. "My money is on...
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....
nothing great, but surrounded by a pretty good core team - and that credit...
I'm shocked Leon agreed with keeping John in there. Then again, if they EVER...
We need to add a few more facts to the 9:56 a.m. post. PAST = 1....
Nobody smuggled a beer into the Utah-BYU game last, kept it the whole game,...
byu by 1
Thanks for showing, Lenora, that leading begins in the home. No wonder you...
Yes three ten win seasons in a row :) Like picking our stats? Well, if...
To Mike / 4:44 p.m. If you read all of the news articles, you will know...
I love the current uniforms! How silly to go back to the old ugly uniforms...
I can't wait for this time tomorrow and all the excuses the B Whine U fans...




You can be the first to comment on this story.