The company described the opening of the two Mara Phones facilities – one retail and one manufacturing – within a short space of time as a bold step for the African smartphone brand "in a challenging but promising environment". Mara Phones plans to launch a total of 50 experience stores, both company-owned and independently operated, before the end of 2022.
The new franchise store in Soweto is owned by local broadcaster, philanthropist and businesswoman Chante Jantjies.
“Opening the first Mara Experience Store in Soweto’s first mall makes a positive statement about our belief in our bright African future and it connects us to the most populous and bustling places on the continent. As a young South African businesswoman, this is where I can best contribute to our economic upliftment by providing the technology that will help usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Jantjies.
“Mara Phones provides quality products at affordable prices and that really appeals to me. Africans don’t have to accept second-best and we don’t have to always pay a premium for what comes standard in the rest of the world. This is our smartphone brand and we are going to use it to connect Mzanzi’s heartbeat,” she added.
The Soweto store enables customers to experience the look and feel of Mara Phones devices while being able to interact with Mara Phones technical specialists. The store will stock the latest Mara Phones devices as well as accessories including phone covers and screen protectors.
Central to succeeding in South Africa’s most storied urban area is local consumer buy-in. “Loyalty is achieved by contributing to the community and we are going to continue creating experience and development opportunities for educated, yet inexperienced young South Africans and we have ensured that the people hired in the store are young individuals from Soweto,” Jantjies said.
Sylvester Taku, head of growth at Mara Phones South Africa, commented, “The launch of the first Mara Experience Store cements our commitment to expand our retail footprint in South Africa and to make it easier for customers to experience and purchase our smartphones and we are thrilled that the first store is opened by Ms Jantjies, an astute and renowned South African business woman and broadcaster."
