Mobile phones sold in Nigeria are overpriced – Dealers

Mobile phones sold in the Nigerian market have been described as being overpriced compared to other saturated markets in the world. Some dealers, who spoke to our correspondent on the issue, maintained that aside the cost of production, a lot more cost centres were also factored into arriving at the prices that consumers eventually pay for the phones. Some of the incorporated cost centres, our correspondent learnt, included events sponsorship and programmes at local and international levels, and cost of campaigns and promotions on products, among others. It was also learnt that most of the phones in the country could be sold for far less than their current market prices if the artificial cost elements were tactically controlled by the phone manufacturers. Confirming this to our correspondent in an interview, the Digital Marketing and Public Relations Manager, West Africa, Tecno Group, Mr. Mounir Boukali, said the global phone market had been characterised by wide propaganda; and as such, a lot of money was being pumped into unnecessary campaigns and sponsorships by some manufacturers. He said the costs of sustaining the campaigns were huge, and the best way to maintain the trend was to incorporate the cost elements in the final prices of the phones, which would ultimately be passed on to the consumers. “What makes up the prices of some of these phones is far from just the cost of production. Intended marketing costs are also factored in. That is why most contemporary phones are very expensive in Nigeria,” Boukali said. A major phone dealer at the Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, who preferred to be anonymous, said the situation further explained the reason why the prices of such phones came crashing very fast when the attention of the manufacturers shifted from them. He said, “Most of these phones you see in the market are overpriced. That is why you can see a similar phone with almost the same qualities being sold for half the price of another phone. “I think this price hike is common with some very strong brands. The irony of this is that they’ve continued to do this because it works and most Nigerians do not mind.” Earlier in 2013, the Federal Government had expressed worries over the 100 per cent dominance of the mobile phone production and assembly market by foreign companies. As if that is not enough, 78 per cent of the market share of the mobile networks is being controlled by international firms. The development, which was confirmed in a recent review of the sector by the Ministry of Communications Technology, necessitated the putting together of a stronger local content guideline by the Federal Government. To reverse the foreign dominance, the government is currently working towards creating enabling environment for innovation, lower market-entry barriers and increase participation by Nigerian companies, while also encouraging the offshoot of new technology businesses. Copyright PUNCH.