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Lollimobile announces the launch of its e-shop, the exclusive curator of the unique mobile accessories catered specifically to females.
Over the last 3 years, sociologist and designer Namanh Hoang of Orange County, CA. has traveled regularly all across Asia, from Hong Kong and China to Taiwan. It was over the course of these trips that Mr. Hoang observed some interesting cultural patterns specific to Asia. He noticed that many people in Asia, particularly females, had not just one smart phone but often had as many as two or three smart phones. Additionally, they changed their phone cases and accessories as often as monthly. This cultural pattern began to raise question for Mr. Hoang and he began research on defining whether it was a phenomenon exclusive to Asia or did the United States have the potential to experience the same level of mobile technology disposability.
Mr. Hoang attributes this rapid growth to the sheer affordability of mobile service plans in Asia which makes acquiring new mobile phones relatively easy with monthly service plans as low as 4 times cheaper than in the United States. Mr. Hoang also believes the flood of gray market accessories from China into other Asia & Pacific countries has also contributed to the high affordability of mobile accessories in Asia. “I was just so surprised by how fast people went through phone cases on a monthly basis and wondered if this was indicator of America’s future” says Mr. Hoang.
In a 2011 study by International Telecommunications Union, ITU estimates that the Asia & Pacific region has up to 2.8 trillion mobile cellular subscriptions which dwarfs the Americas which has up to 969 million mobile cellular subscriptions. However, in the Asia & Pacific region only 73.9% per 100 inhabitants have mobile cellular subscriptions while in the Americas the number is much greater at 103.3% per 100 inhabitants. This study supports Hoang's observation that possibly the ratio of mobile cellular devices to people is far greater in the Asia & Pacific region than it is in the Americas.
"I think that Americans have begun moving increasingly towards the minimalist modern look which is saturated with neutral tones," says Mr. Hoang, who is the founder of Lollimobile.com. "However in Asia it's quite the opposite. Walking into a mobile accessories store in Asia is like walking into a candy shop. People there don't buy phone cases out of necessity, they buy it to make a fashion statement and to express their personality. I think they certainly have more fun shopping for mobile accessories than we do here because the selection is just so huge and the prices are so affordable."
Inspired by the mobile accessories shopping experience in Asia, Mr. Hoang wanted to bring that experience here to the United States. Today, that website is the new Lollimobile.com, an online retail store devoted to the sale of mobile accessories that are fun, cute and hip.
Mr. Hoang says starting the business was quite a challenge especially when market research and data showed a very small minority of people interested in cute mobile accessories, specifically from Google search and traffic data results. "But we were committed to this because we know that it's not just about selling stuff, but also about changing our culture just a little bit. I don't want to live in a neutral sterilized future of monotones. I know that safe designs sells, and for us, investing in cute is a huge risk because not everyone is comfortable with colors, but we hope to change that."
Pinterest and Tumbler are good indicators of the cute mobile accessories market potential, according to Mr. Hoang. "I see more cute iPhone 4 cases being posted, shared and repinned every day." Pinterest results for keyword phrases, cute iPhone 4 case made up approximately 3% of the 45 million results for iPhone 4 case. "It's small, but not small enough to be ignored," Mr. Hoang says.
Founded in July 2012, Lollimobile.com already carries approximately 150 products, with more to come soon. In addition, plans are already in the works to expand and make Lollimobile.com the online resource for all things cute. The idea is to not only bring the largest selection from all around the world but also to offer the best customer service through their "Love it guarantee" which offers not only free shipping but also offers free no questions asked returns.
“I'm very surprised by how fun it is to sell these cute mobile accessories,” Mr. Hoang says. “Who wants to sit around choosing between 100 versions of black, white or gray when you can decide between pink bunny ears or pruple kitten tails.”
Source Article: International Telecommunication Union - Key Global Telecom Indicators for the World Telecommunication Service Sector (16 November 2011) itu.int/.
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