Rocky whistles amid mobile frenzy

Abu Dhabi's small phone outlets parrot the same line - unlike the big stores, they offer the personal touch. The vendors know how to make their customers believe they have stumbled upon a bargain. But Rocky is less easy to impress.

Sayed Mohamed, a sales assistant at Al Malmas. Deepthi Unnikrishnan / The National

Like many youngsters of his age, Rocky is still learning to talk.

The 18-month-old African grey parrot spends his days chirping and whistling at customers of Al Ghazala Electronic Key.

But having a resident bird is not the only thing that sets this Abu Dhabi shop apart. Not so long ago, it was surrounded by other key-cutting shops. Now it is the only one in a strip of mobile-phone outlets.

The tiny store, one of an estimated 175,000 small and medium enterprises in the Emirates, is just one of two key cutters left in the area off the capital's 11th Street, commonly known as Defence Street.

"There is one [key-cutting] shop at the back side," says Ebrahim Al Houmidan, 17, a Syrian schoolboy who works in his father's shop between lessons.

So why did his father not follow the trend and open a mobile-phone shop?

"My father doesn't like mobiles," he adds, amid much chirping from Rocky, who does not appear to like them either.

But unfortunately for Mr Al Houmidan's father and Rocky, the dozens of small mobile-phone sellers that surround the key store are evidence that many others do like mobiles.

Just up the road is One Top Phone, which, like many other stores on the street, displays dozens of old and new models in glass cases.

"How many mobiles do you have?" asks Mohammad Abdullah, a sales employee. "Another man, he has two mobiles or three mobiles. [Some people] change their mobile each month," he adds.

Mr Abdullah, like most workers in the mobile-phone area, is Syrian, and moved to the UAE for a better life.

Another Syrian shop assistant, Abdullah Abdullah, a mathematics graduate nicknamed Square Abdullah by his friends, arrived in Abu Dhabi a year and a half ago.

"I wanted to be a translator because I can speak English, but unfortunately when you have nobody to help you it is very hard," says Mr Abdullah, an employee of City Light Mobile Phones. "In this life you cannot get whatever you want."

Although many Syrians make friends with their countrymen working in the mobile-phone sector, few, if any, knew anyone working there before they arrived.

Most do not know why there are so many Syrians working in the business.

But Sayed Mohamed, 48, a sales assistant from India, has a theory. "Syrians can speak fluent Arabic. Most of our customers are Arab, so, it's easier for them to deal with these customers," explains the employee of Al Malmas Mobile Phones, who has been in the UAE for 12 years.

"It's difficult for us as we [Indians] are not that fluent [in Arabic]," Mr Mohamed says. "These guys can interact well with the Arab customers."

And that is vital in an area with so much competition.

At first sight, it is difficult to spot the advantages for businesses specialising in one product to cluster together.

But there are several. For Husain Mohamed, 24, who has been in the UAE for three years and works at Golden Mobile Telephones, one of the biggest advantages is the guaranteed stream of customers.

"Everyone knows that this place is known for having stores and stores of mobile phones," he said. And if the shop was on a street without other mobile sellers, it might receive only passing trade, he says.

But being so close to competitors can make standing out more difficult.

The shops, many of which sell the same models of phones and cases, try to set themselves apart on a number of points.

Al Malmas Mobile Phones stocks the most-wanted range, including new and second-hand Samsung Galaxys, iPhones and BlackBerrys.

But its selection is varied, and includes a seven-year-old Nokia 6610 with a large crack in the screen and a Dh15 (US$4) price tag, proving that the area caters to differing budgets.

Bartering is all part of the fun. Customers often ask for the best price, but if they do not seem serious, the vendors often raise the cost to make it look like their customers are receiving a good deal, says Sayed Mohamed.

Al Malmas works on a slim margin to make a profit.

"A customer will usually ask what the best price is for a phone here. We then quote a price to the customer. Then we say that we'll add a [mobile phone] cover as well," he explains.

But because margins are slim, they have to sell many mobiles to stay afloat.

"A good day is the first of the month, from the first to the 10th," says Muneer Hariri, an employee at Al Shouhob Phones who is also from Syria. "After that it is not good. On the first I will sell 25 to 30."

Hypermarkets such as LuLu buy in bulk and therefore can offer the phones at a lower price. But the mobile outlets off 11th street offer something the big stores do not - the personal touch.

"If you want to transfer existing contacts from your old phone to the new one, we do that for you here quickly on the computer," says Sayed Mohamed. "Or if you were to ever call us and ask us something, then we try to answer to the best of our knowledge. Then the customer will think that this is a good shop and will recommend it to their friends too."

Large shops return faulty mobile phones to dealers for repairs, which can take up to 10 days, say the salesmen. But the mobile-phone shops offer instant service.

"Customers want everything immediately," Mr Mohamed adds. This is one of the ways his shop gains repeat customers, he says.

Returning customers also receive bigger discounts. New people tend to shop around, but some salesmen suspect that even regulars test the waters these days.

Wael Mohammed, 24, Syrian and working at City Light Mobile Phones, says two years ago the shop was full. "Two years ago my customers were dealing with me and not going anywhere else. Now anyone coming here checks the market for which one is cheap" - even if it is to only save Dh1," he adds.

But the vagaries of business are of no concern to Rocky, who remains unflappable, contentedly sitting on his perch in Al Ghazala Electronic Key, whistling and mimicking the ringtone of a mobile phone.

twitter: Follow and share our breaking business news. Follow us

iPad users can follow our twitterfeed via Flipboard - just search for Ind_Insights on the app.