Phenomenal growth
“I think the determination to create something different sets us apart,” he says. “We wanted to actually do something from scratch and achieve something unique.” In 1997 the company had a US$40 million turnover, growing to US$100 million in 2002, US$600 million in 2004 and US$1 billion in 2005.
Axiom Telecom is the largest authorized distributor and retailer for international brands including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens, Thuraya, i-mate and Simpletech. Specializing in wireless communication products, Axiom Telecom has more than 200 retail outlets in the UAE and others in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. In July this year it opened an outlet opposite Harrods department store in London, with Arabic-speaking staff.
Multiple outlets
As well as its own outlets, Axiom Telecom has partnership deals in the UAE with Spinneys, Lulu Centers and Union Co-op. It also sells mobile phone accessories in Emirate, Enoc and Eppco service stations. In terms of its wholesale business, Axiom is the largest multi-brand distributor in the Middle East and Europe. Its Axiomplus business unit sells value-added services like ring tones, games, wallpaper, live soccer score updates and other mobile wireless applications.
Overcoming challenges from larger competitors, Axiom Telecom has differentiated itself by moving faster, offering unique services, and remaining customer-focused. It was the first company in the UAE to offer two years’ extended warranty and free mobile phone insurance and is the only telecom company to operate a generous Air Miles reward package.
Outstanding customer service
Recently a survey conducted by ETHOS and 7Days in the United Arab Emirates named Axiom Telecom as having the best customer service and best overall customer experience of any mobile phone retailer. This survey was based on research conducted in 210 mobile phone retail outlets across the UAE.
Axiom’s dedicated mobile phone repair center Phonecare is ISO certified and handles all after-sales services. Customers under warranty can visit Phonecare and receive a replacement handset while theirs is being repaired and specialist engineers at Phonecare also undertake to repair every phone within 24 hours, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Mr. Al Bannai points out that the mobile phone market is still at an early stage in its life cycle, with the oldest player being just 16 years old. “Today we are a recognized player on a global stage,” he says. “We think we have a good model, we are determined and we are always willing to innovate.”
Future plans
Axiom Telecom is now looking strategically at other markets. “There are good markets and competitors around, but we are very determined,” says Mr. Al Bannai. “We are looking at different parts of the world. I think we will have a dual strategy – we will grow here and then perhaps buy a player in a mature market, in Europe or the US. We have very strong partners, and these partners want the company to grow.”
He credits the government’s entrepreneurial drive with raising quality standards in Dubai. “The biggest quality driver is the government,” he explains. “If your government is entrepreneurial and instituting quality initiatives, then everything around you is entrepreneurial. The whole economy is driving you towards better business.”
At the age of 32, local entrepreneur Faisal Al Bannai is one of the most successful businessmen in the UAE leading an organization with more than 3.5 billion Dirhams in annual revenues in 2005 and with currently 850 employees across the region.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Axiom Telecom, Al Bannai established the company in 1997 when he identified a clear gap in the market for a wholesale and retail business for mobile communications.
By 1999 Axiom became the official distributor for most of the prominent mobile consumer brands in the UAE and had already sold the largest number of Nokia branded communicators in the Middle East.
With only four employees at the start of its operations, Al Bannai quickly grew the company to a regional leadership position in the wireless technology and mobility sector.
Today, Axiom Telecom is the Middle East’s largest wireless retailer with 200 retail outlets and 240 retail points of presence.
Al Bannai himself personifies the youthfulness, quality guarantee and exponential growth of the company. His personality traits have sparked Axiom’s excellence in creating unparalleled customer experience and perfectly compliment the company’s need to constantly evolve and meet market demands.
Holding responsibility of the brand’s growth across the full range of business activities including Service City, Axiom Plus and Axiom SP, Al Bannai devises the strategic planning and technology development needed to maintain the company’s expansion and deliver breakthrough wireless concepts to the region.
Through his aggressive brand strategy and a great network of distributors in the Middle East, Al Bannai is well positioned to grow Axiom’s pipeline of transactions in the region and beyond.
With Saudi Arabia leading expansion plans, he is hoping to achieve more than 600 outlets and 300 retail points of presence across the region by the end of 2006.
Al Bannai has more than nine years of experience working in the IT and telecom sector. He began his career with a software company for mobile technology and with this direct exposure to the IT market, he was quick to pick up the growing trend of wireless communications.
To encourage entrepreneurship and innovative business outlooks in the region, he established the Middle East operations for the international foundation the Young Entrepreneurs Operation in the late 1990s.
In April 2005 he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Young Business Leaders at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry premises by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister.
He has also scooped the Arabian Business Entrepreneur of the Year award in October 2005.
Al Bannai has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Boston University and a Master’s degree in Shipping, Trade and Finance from London’s City University.
Al Bannai is married with four children. In his spare time, he likes to play soccer and is also a keen traveler.
