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Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread


joshuam

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The Radio Shack strategy in my part of Jersey seems like a waste of time and money. They shut all the ones in good locations and kept the ones in the out of the way, rundown strip malls. And the ones they kept they have just hung a Sprint banner in the window. No remodels to be seen yet. Some of these are so bad I hope they don't waste anymore money.

 

The mall closest to us is upscale-ish. It has an Apple Store and a Microsoft store as well as three corporate locations for the other three carriers. There was a Radio Shack there. Not in the best part of the mall but pretty good. They closed it. Of course there used to be a Nextel store which was converted to Sprint. That was closed years ago. They'd rather turn the resellers loose on you around here.

 

There is lots of retail space available in good locations around here. Why not find space where people are instead of teaming up with a washed up brand in yesterday's locations?

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The Radio Shack strategy in my part of Jersey seems like a waste of time and money. They shut all the ones in good locations and kept the ones in the out of the way, rundown strip malls. And the ones they kept they have just hung a Sprint banner in the window. No remodels to be seen yet. Some of these are so bad I hope they don't waste anymore money.

 

The mall closest to us is upscale-ish. It has an Apple Store and a Microsoft store as well as three corporate locations for the other three carriers. There was a Radio Shack there. Not in the best part of the mall but pretty good. They closed it. Of course there used to be a Nextel store which was converted to Sprint. That was closed years ago. They'd rather turn the resellers loose on you around here.

 

There is lots of retail space available in good locations around here. Why not find space where people are instead of teaming up with a washed up brand in yesterday's locations?

That could just be a regional issue though. I did see a bit of that with Southern Illinois where the Carbondale location was left open was at Murdale which is a little out of the way compared with the prime locations in that town which would be by the mall or on the Strip. In St. Louis most of the locations are pretty good, though.

 

Come think of it, a location on the Strip would be perfect considering a lot of the Sprint users in Southern Illinois are college kids.

 

 

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I think it is a good idea for Sprint to buy all of the Radio Shack stores and converting them to part corporate Sprint sales, part corporate Radio Shack sales. I think its a good idea for Sprint to sell the helpful electronics items and accessories now normally very difficult to find in a physical, non-online only store.

 

However, even though I like the name "Sprint Shack", I kinda doubt Sprint would choose that name for their stores. I think more likely they'd name them "Radio Shack by Sprint". Unless of course, Sprint rebrands as "Radio Shack Mobile", or possibly rebrands Radio Shack into something else more Sprint-like, or yet more like whatever else Sprint might name itself.

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I think it is a good idea for Sprint to buy all of the Radio Shack stores and converting them to part corporate Sprint sales, part corporate Radio Shack sales. I think its a good idea for Sprint to sell the helpful electronics items and accessories now normally very difficult to find in a physical, non-online only store.

 

However, even though I like the name "Sprint Shack", I kinda doubt Sprint would choose that name for their stores. I think more likely they'd name them "Radio Shack by Sprint". Unless of course, Sprint rebrands as "Radio Shack Mobile", or possibly rebrands Radio Shack into something else more Sprint-like, or yet more like whatever else Sprint might name itself.

Dude I think you're obsessed with Sprint changing their name.  I think Radio Shack Mobile would be terrible.

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Dude I think you're obsessed with Sprint changing their name. I think Radio Shack Mobile would be terrible.

I know I'm talking alot about it here, didn't mean it offensively though. Just my observing and mentioning what I'm thinking. S4GRU and posting here has been a huge help to me these past few days especially, as I've got a potentially serious situation I'm hoping eases up soon, so I know I've been a bit stuck on the name and hq issues the past few days.

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Also, looks like the T-mobile merger may happen after the 2016 election. Wonder what would the name be.

Sprintmobile.... :-)

 

I'm sure if it came to that some consultant will get paid big bucks to come up with something. This never made sense to me. Is it just due diligence to pay tons of money for other people to give you potential names?

 

As for changing the name, I don't think it makes sense to change it or spend a single penny changing it.

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Additionally, I saw that one of the RadioShacks in Chelsea, Manhattan which was supposed to close (according to the list from a while ago) is actually open and is being turned into a Sprint location. I'm guessing that list has been revised a bit as time has gone on.

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I have noticed several Radio Shack stores in NoVA being converted into Sprint Radio Shack stores.

 

For the record, personally I think that the stores should be renamed Sprint Shack stores. I know that the name started as a sort of joke here on this site, but I really like the name.

 

Sprint Shack easy rolls off of the tongue, and combines the two elements of the store...Sprint and Radio Shack.

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Masa would move the top level people to San Carlos where he's at a good chunk of the time before Miami. In fact, Sprint and SoftBank already downsized presence there after it became clear T-Mobile wouldn't happen any time in the foreseeable future.

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-softbank-downsizes-presence-in-silicon-valley-1428465947

 

 

Heres why I think Sprint will move to Miami  (not in order of importance)

 

1) Marcelo loves Miami. According to Wikipedia his family lives there, but that may not be accurate

 

2) Marcelo founded Brightstar, HQ located in .... Miami

 

3) Brightstar?

 

"Japan's SoftBank Corp said it had agreed to pay $1.26 billion for a 57 percent stake in privately held cellphone distributor Brightstar Corp as it looks to boost its bargaining power with handset makers.

SoftBank, which owns 80 percent of No. 3 U.S. mobile operator Sprint Corp, said that under the agreement its ownership of Brightstar would increase to 70 percent over the next five years, or upon certain unspecified events."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/18/us-brightstar-softbank-idUSBRE99H0NA20131018

 

4) Marcelo loves Miami so much hes investing in a new MLS team there

 

5) Marcelo wants to increase focus on the Hispanic market, including hiring more Hispanic

employees. Miami, believe it or not, has a large qualified hispanic workforce, quite possibly larger than Kansas

 

6) We now know Softbank does not care for Kansas

 

7) We also know that politically, Kansas is currently being run like Sprint circa 2006. Without wading into political talk, the fact is, the way the school system has been handled is making recruiting into Kansas difficult. There is no sign of that changing in the near future.

 

8) If Sprint/Softbank are interested in expanding into Latin America, Miami has the most flights to Latin America than any other city.

 

 

 

I'm not sure you know the scope of Sprint's campus in Overland Park. It's huge. You can bet that Overland Park, Kansas City and the state of Kansas will put up a fight if Sprint even thinks about relocating. 

 

 

I could see them moving most of HQ to Miami and leaving certain areas behind in kansas. Maybe Kansas is a good place for the emergency technical teams because the central location allows for short flight times to everywhere in the network. Maybe Kansas has a glut of accountants and theres no reason to move that kind of back end stuff anywhere

 

 

 

Come on.  Apples to oranges.  Kansas City is an important metro area.  But it is not the New York City metro area.  And the New Jersey suburbs of New York City house many Fortune 500 companies.  Kansas City has almost no Fortune 500 companies -- except for Sprint.  Sprint leaving would devastate the metro area.  Basically, an entire square mile in Overland Park would become a ghost town.  That would be a perfect example of corporate social irresponsibility.  No, if SoftBank tries to pull that stunt, Masayoshi Son can go to hell.

 

AJ

 

Nobody wants to see anybody lose their jobs, but Marcelo's one and only duty is to his stock holders, not the people of Kansas.

 

The fact that no other company is HQed there hurts Sprint. Companies all locate together because it allows them access to a larger, more qualified labor pool. Thats why tech is all in Silicon Valley and Washington, finance in NYC and Charlotte etc etc

 

If Sprint is having trouble recruiting, then they need to move.

 

 

 

 

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As for radio shack, mine was just converted to an AT&T store. It was amazing, I saw them going in to remove shelves and start painting one day and exactly 11 days later it was open for business. Never seen something like that move so fast.

 

It looks good, much nicer than the 3rd party Sprint store they kept 2 blocks away.

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On a side note, I've heard "What's The Matter with Kansas" by Thomas Frank is a great read. AJ, you ever read that?

 

 

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I think AJ is still dealing with the migraine of watching too many NY/Metro home prices shows and thought of Sprint heading east either to Miami or NY/metro Area was too much and he went into a coma.

 

:P  

 

TS

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Heres why I think Sprint will move to Miami (not in order of importance)

 

1) Marcelo loves Miami. According to Wikipedia his family lives there, but that may not be accurate

 

2) Marcelo founded Brightstar, HQ located in .... Miami

 

3) Brightstar?

 

"Japan's SoftBank Corp said it had agreed to pay $1.26 billion for a 57 percent stake in privately held cellphone distributor Brightstar Corp as it looks to boost its bargaining power with handset makers.

SoftBank, which owns 80 percent of No. 3 U.S. mobile operator Sprint Corp, said that under the agreement its ownership of Brightstar would increase to 70 percent over the next five years, or upon certain unspecified events."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/18/us-brightstar-softbank-idUSBRE99H0NA20131018

 

4) Marcelo loves Miami so much hes investing in a new MLS team there

 

5) Marcelo wants to increase focus on the Hispanic market, including hiring more Hispanic

employees. Miami, believe it or not, has a large qualified hispanic workforce, quite possibly larger than Kansas

 

6) We now know Softbank does not care for Kansas

 

7) We also know that politically, Kansas is currently being run like Sprint circa 2006. Without wading into political talk, the fact is, the way the school system has been handled is making recruiting into Kansas difficult. There is no sign of that changing in the near future.

 

8) If Sprint/Softbank are interested in expanding into Latin America, Miami has the most flights to Latin America than any other city.

 

 

 

 

 

I could see them moving most of HQ to Miami and leaving certain areas behind in kansas. Maybe Kansas is a good place for the emergency technical teams because the central location allows for short flight times to everywhere in the network. Maybe Kansas has a glut of accountants and theres no reason to move that kind of back end stuff anywhere

 

 

 

 

Nobody wants to see anybody lose their jobs, but Marcelo's one and only duty is to his stock holders, not the people of Kansas.

 

The fact that no other company is HQed there hurts Sprint. Companies all locate together because it allows them access to a larger, more qualified labor pool. Thats why tech is all in Silicon Valley and Washington, finance in NYC and Charlotte etc etc

 

If Sprint is having trouble recruiting, then they need to move.

 

 

 

 

---

 

As for radio shack, mine was just converted to an AT&T store. It was amazing, I saw them going in to remove shelves and start painting one day and exactly 11 days later it was open for business. Never seen something like that move so fast.

 

It looks good, much nicer than the 3rd party Sprint store they kept 2 blocks away.

Disclaimer - My post here will be a bit long :

 

I completely agree with James on all of these points. By the way, very well written post about this subject and one of the best I've seen written about Sprint and regarding Sprint's management decisions in its process of reforming Sprint into a much better company. I especially liked how this post gave some information about Marcelo's connection with Miami I didn't even know about.

 

Marcelo definitely has to consider the stockholders' interest as a priority over local employees. After all, he's already made layoffs to hundreds of local Sprint employees since he became Sprint's CEO. I'm not trying to bash/criticize him for doing so though, as I know this happens in many companies. It is the unfortunate downside to business and the monetary-based economic system in society.

 

So considering that, it really isn't so much Marcelo's, nor Sprint's fault for doing so, if they end up moving Sprint's HQ. It isn't really a fair reason for anyone to be upset at Sprint, Marcelo, or even Masa for making these particular decisions. After all, I'd imagine these decisions will help Sprint in many ways for the long run, hopefully keeping Sprint alive and well.

 

Back to the points James mentioned. I am now even more convinced Sprint likely will move to Miami. I think Miami will be the main executive offices, along with the accounting and consumer relations departments, among all of the legal and local affairs departments. While I use to believe they might separate the location of the new device leasing division/company, I now believe it either will stay in the same location with the corporate HQ, even though it'll be a separate entity, or it will be at the location of the other place I'm about to mention.

 

I believe there will be a second HQ for the technical/network department somewhere on the west coast. This is where Sprint might decide to locate the new device leasing division/company. My opinion is that it'll remain a small location/building, unless/until they acquire T-Mobile, or decide to partner with T-Mobile somehow. I envision T-Mobile's headquarters as a great location for the technical/network department.

 

Either place on the west coast would be where Softbank and Sprint, possibly even T-Mobile employees would meet and discuss business together. It would be a much more ideal location for Softbank employees to travel, than to Kansas City. Even Miami, despite being further away from Japan than Kansas City, would be better as a larger business environment, also considering being much more touristy than Kansas City, for Softbank employees to relax a bit after the long flight.

 

Even after all of that possibly happening, I'm now more convinced on the possibility of Sprint leaving Kansas City altogether. The other big city for Sprint, besides Miami, is Chicago. Sprint could make Chicago the Midwest hub, especially if Sprint decides to acquire U.S. Cellular. These moves all seem to follow the path not only with what Marcelo wants, but with what Masa wants, as well. Chicago feels much less of the sleepy Midwestern area that Masa seems to have a problem with, considering reports I've been reading lately indicating this based from Masa's comments of Sprint employees there.

 

Chicago definitely has a closer resemblance to the "big city" feel Masa is probably is use to in Tokyo, with a much less laid-back attitude there than more Mid-America and Mid-South areas do. Being less laid-back means workers will be more inclined to work harder and be more dedicated to their job progress, which definitely seems to be what Masa wants from his employees. That appears to be what Masa had a problem with regarding the Sprint employees in Kansas City.

 

Anyways, with Sprint moving away from Kansas City to areas with more productive workers where job competition is more fierce, which produces the drive to be more productive and essential to these jobs, Sprint can develop faster, more efficiently, and economically, while making way for improving public relations. All of these factors enhances customer experience, decreases churn, reverses negative reputation, increases business, earnings, profitability, then generates higher stock value.

 

Every one of those points is what matters most to Masa, Marcelo, Softbank, and Sprint. Moving their headquarters and making way for a few hub locations in prime cities, such as in Chicago and in New York, to compliment the Miami and west coast headquarters, Sprint will be in a great position moving forward.

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This just dropped....

 

--------

 

Sprint Launches iPhone Forever

 

Join the iPhone Forever Revolution. Upgrade your iPhone ANYTIME, it’s included in your monthly rate. Get your iPhone for just $22/mo. Anytime you don't have the latest, you are eligible to upgrade! For a limited time, get this special offer for $15/mo!

 

Limited Time Offer: Bring us any smartphone to trade-in and your regular monthly rate is reduced to just $15 until your next upgrade. But HURRY, if you get your iPhone 6 and upgrade before December 31 that upgrade doesn't stop your discount – it continues all the way until your next upgrade!

 

How it Works:

  • Get your iPhone 6 before 9/10.
  • Send us your working smartphone within 30 days. (we'll provide the postage).
  • Trade in your iPhone 6 for the latest iPhone no later than 12/31.
-------

 

The Newsroom Release has a great price chart which compares it with offers from the other carriers.

 

The $15/month pricing is for an iPhone 6 (16 GB) on a 22 month lease with a trade-in of a smartphone. (Sprint also offers a 21 month lease on this program at different pricing)

 

The 24 month lease is not part of this program.

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We are definitely seeing downward pressure on the cost to use a device (leasing in this case). I think it's great to see these costs come down. I think eventually Apple will finally be forced to reduce the cost of a new iPhone. Android phones have their own force to push prices downward, with the great lower cost devices coming out (Motorola devices, OnePlus, etc).

 

I like the options though. If you want every iPhone....paying $22/month is pretty reasonable. Never having to shell out $199 for the contract price, not being locked in for 2 years, etc.

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This just dropped....

 

--------

 

Sprint Launches iPhone Forever

 

Join the iPhone Forever Revolution. Upgrade your iPhone ANYTIME, it’s included in your monthly rate. Get your iPhone for just $22/mo. Anytime you don't have the latest, you are eligible to upgrade! For a limited time, get this special offer for $15/mo!

 

Limited Time Offer: Bring us any smartphone to trade-in and your regular monthly rate is reduced to just $15 until your next upgrade. But HURRY, if you get your iPhone 6 and upgrade before December 31 that upgrade doesn't stop your discount – it continues all the way until your next upgrade!

 

How it Works:

  • Get your iPhone 6 before 9/10.
  • Send us your working smartphone within 30 days. (we'll provide the postage).
  • Trade in your iPhone 6 for the latest iPhone no later than 12/31.
-------

 

The Newsroom Release has a great price chart which compares it with offers from the other carriers.

 

The $15/month pricing is for an iPhone 6 (16 GB) on a 22 month lease with a trade-in of a smartphone. (Sprint also offers a 21 month lease on this program at different pricing)

 

The 24 month lease is not part of this program.

 

Very interesting! I will definitely consider as my Wife's birthday is coming up (and it will mean a good excuse for me to upgrade to the new Nexus 5 when it comes out....)

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This just dropped....

 

--------

 

Sprint Launches iPhone Forever

 

Join the iPhone Forever Revolution. Upgrade your iPhone ANYTIME, it’s included in your monthly rate. Get your iPhone for just $22/mo. Anytime you don't have the latest, you are eligible to upgrade! For a limited time, get this special offer for $15/mo!

 

Limited Time Offer: Bring us any smartphone to trade-in and your regular monthly rate is reduced to just $15 until your next upgrade. But HURRY, if you get your iPhone 6 and upgrade before December 31 that upgrade doesn't stop your discount – it continues all the way until your next upgrade!

 

How it Works:

  • Get your iPhone 6 before 9/10.
  • Send us your working smartphone within 30 days. (we'll provide the postage).
  • Trade in your iPhone 6 for the latest iPhone no later than 12/31.
-------

 

The Newsroom Release has a great price chart which compares it with offers from the other carriers.

 

The $15/month pricing is for an iPhone 6 (16 GB) on a 22 month lease with a trade-in of a smartphone. (Sprint also offers a 21 month lease on this program at different pricing)

 

The 24 month lease is not part of this program.

So if I am reading this correctly if you are currently on an iPhone 6 lease there is no early upgrade.

 

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So if I am reading this correctly if you are currently on an iPhone 6 lease there is no early upgrade.

 

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The way I read it is that my wife has an Iphone 5. She turns that in and gets an Iphone 6. If she then upgrades to the new Iphone 6s that comes out this year she can keep the $15/mo cost with the new phone.

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8cb3b8a0b3a450469607c5814e9cfa48.jpg

 

Stock is slowly coming back from the dead.

 

This new iPhone for life thing is very inciting. But my only thing is I already have a iPhone 6 but I have upgrade on my account but still under contact. I know this new thing is leasing but will that extend my contract exp date. Also if I'm leasing the phone can I buy it out early if I wanted too?

 

 

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Anything like this coming down the pike for Android phones? I am not complaining about the iPhone program here, just saying that it would be nice to expand it a little. 

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Anything like this coming down the pike for Android phones? I am not complaining about the iPhone program here, just saying that it would be nice to expand it a little. 

I would agree.  This is a great start. Most likely still pushing iphones from the 2011 deal.

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Anything like this coming down the pike for Android phones? I am not complaining about the iPhone program here, just saying that it would be nice to expand it a little. 

 

Real S4GRUers do not lease and turn back in their handsets -- whether iPhone or Android.  No, they treat them with care, then preserve all of them for display in their homes or bequest to the Robert M. Herron Museum of Modern Cellphones.  They are historical artifacts.

 

AJ

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Anything like this coming down the pike for Android phones? I am not complaining about the iPhone program here, just saying that it would be nice to expand it a little. 

I have not checked resale trends lately, but my guess is they can be more aggressive with the iPhone leasing programs because historically the iPhone maintains a high resale value vs. android phones. 

 

Also, like it or not, iPhone drives a lot of traffic.  Having the best iPhone deal out there is not a bad thing.  I like how they are getting ahead of the next iPhone announcement with this program. 

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