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Michelle James
An Interview with Chris Kingree
It all started as a hobby in Inverness, Florida in 1999. Marcus Adolfsson, a recent University of Florida college graduate back then, embarked on an online adventure launching of VisorCentral as a community forum dedicated to Handspring’s Visor product featuring news and reviews. In 2002, Marcus launched TreoCentral to accompany the next round of new Handspring models, this time, adding commerce to the site for selling ringtones to Treo owners. Accessories were added to the online store in 2003 with the release of the next generation of Treo smartphones. Never did he anticipate that just a few short years later, they would be named one of the fastest growing retailers on the Inc. 500 list of privately-held companies in America, and rank 37th overall on that same list!
In 2004, Diana Kingree, the first employee joined to assist in the growth of the company which was renamed Smartphone Experts. TreoCentral became a branded store under the Smartphone Experts umbrella. As part of their brand-building strategy, the team also started contracting with manufacturers to produce smartphone accessories under their own brand label.
Smartphone Experts started with identifying a niche play and a gap in demand in a very competitive marketplace. Warehousing logistics began with a couple 12 x 24 foot sheds in a backyard where they cut their teeth in distribution shipping 30 accessory SKUs the first year. That quickly ramped up to 500 SKUs the following year representing more than 2,500 shipments per week. In 2006, the lean Smartphone Experts team branched their operations from the backyard to a more formidable warehouse and began carrying additional accessory product lines for BlackBerry, HTC, and of course now including the iPhone smartphones. Once they maxed out capacity at that facility in a year, they moved again to their larger current location where they average over 8,000 orders shipped per week. This past ‘Cyber Monday’ - the Monday following Thanksgiving - Smartphone Experts’ shipments exceeded 3,800 orders in a single day!
Smartphone Experts started out as a simple idea to create an online community and grew to fulfill enormous demand for smartphone accessories nationwide. Now, having matured into what Chris Kingree, Director of Wholesale and Business Development, calls, “a corporate-level fulfillment solution built specifically for independent wireless retailers at affordable prices.”
According to Smartphone Experts, they ship more UPS packages in the Central Florida than anyone. Direct to consumers orders, ordered through http://www.smartphoneexperts.com represent a large portion of their business. However, they have also substantially grown their wholesaler program giving retailers and wireless dealers access to affordable OEM and private label accessories using their wholesale portal to purchase over 7,000 different SKUs. Their goal is to be a “one-stop shop” for retailers while offering competitive pricing. Their portal requires no minimum purchases and same-day shipping for all orders received by 4:30pm EST.
Other niche Web stores the enterprising Smartphone Expert team manages in addition TreoCentral, include BlueShop, BBerry, Crackberry, TIPB and WMExperts. They offer private label product lines for bloggers and reseller sites as well as a co-branded store program supported by Smartphone Expert backend fulfillment. Monthly commission structures can be very lucrative. Wholesalers can utilize “blind shipping” programs and drop shipment programs to seamlessly fulfill their customer demand under their brand loyalty using the SKU availability and shipping expertise of the Smartphone team.
Today, Smartphone Experts is an online retailer and manufacturer of smartphone accessories, powering a growing network of e-commerce stores that offer a wide selection of products, rapid fulfillment, and knowledgeable expert support. In addition to their own branded products, they retail accessories from over 80 manufacturers. The founder and team point to a key ingredient that has kept them grounded in their fast-tracked yet sustained success. According to Marcus Adolfsson, CEO of Smartphone Experts, “every single employee can do every facet of our business - whether it is picking orders, packing orders, shipping orders, and all customer interface points in the process. We believe if our employees understand every step of our logistics, we will continue to be successful.” Just when you think the wireless market is saturated, a hobby packs enough energy to put one young enterprising company on the Inc. 500 list!