Sources inform "Globes" that Sony Ericsson, a venture of Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) for developing end-user cellular equipment, has decided to market its own cellular phones in Israel. Sony Ericsson will not grant the marketing franchise for the phones to Polar Investments (formerly Poalim Investments), as previously agreed.
Sony Ericsson has already committed itself to Polar, and even presented Polar to Partner Communications (Nasdaq: PTNR) and Cellcom as its representative in Israel. The reason for the decision to market the phones independently is probably Isfar Home Tech’s (Sony Israel) demand for the franchise. Sony Ericsson's phones will be marketed by the company's office in Turkey for Cellcom and Partner.
Sony Ericsson representative in Israel Daniel Segal said in response, "It's true that for the moment, we have decided to sell Sony Ericsson products directly to the operators. We have decided against working with a specific representative in Israel. The company works like this all around the world. We keep a special relationship between the company and the operators.
"When the Israeli market becomes open, not closed, as it is now, we will consider changing our method. As of now, we are managing part of the business ourselves, while coordinating customer service and support after selling with Dai Telecom. We're negotiating to expand this activity."
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on April 29, 2002