Jorge Mendes, the new CEO for Cell C has revealed that they have plans on the pipeline to reach 15% revenue market share in South Africa to become sustainable, which will require a big jump in revenue.
In a media briefing this week, Mendes said the telecoms company will be shaking up the South African mobile industry with innovative new products, and also promised that it would not be business as usual at Cell C and the company would be different going forward.
Mendes said: “We have to build an amazing culture. Our employees and partners must love to work with Cell C.” He revealed that could already see different energy at the company within the first sixty days, partly facilitated by improved communications.
He added that at Cell C they believe if they create a really good culture and do the right things for the customer, they will carve out a share. Cell C still has brand value, which they will build on to make it a brand that South Africa really loves. “Cell C must become a real purpose organisation that adds value just beyond a SIM card and a tariff plan.” – he added.
Mendes made a promise that Cell C would be a different organisation in the next 18 to 24 months. He also mentioned that the focus is not necessarily the market share. “We want to be profitable. We want to be sustainable.”
He did say however, that they will be carving out a space for Cell C, where the business is worth far more than it is today. Already the company has significantly reduced costs, including retrenching most of its staff and switching off its radio access network.
The executive also revealed that they are working on their new strategy, which would require a minimum of 15% revenue market share. “We would be profitable before reaching 15% market share, but that would be a solid position to be in,” he said.
The latest annual reports from Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Cell C’s main shareholder, Blue Label Telecoms, show that a huge effort will have to be made by Mendes’ team to achieve their target. Cell C generated revenue of R13.3 billion in the past financial year, which equates to a market share of less than 8%.
In order for the company to achieve a market share of 15%, based on historical financial data, Cell C must generate around R26 billion to R27 billion – double its current revenue.
