Helio‘s throwing money at it in a big way: three months after the official launch of the U.S. MVNO, it is announcing its move into fully-owned retail stores, and trying to come up with an Apple Store-like experience in selling the phone service (Oh wait, I just called it a phone...). This despite the general skepticism in the market about MVNOs, and their viability in general.
The first store will open early October, about seven blocks from where I live, on Santa Monica Promenade. (It’ll be on the north end, between the Apple Store and Banana Republic). Additional stores will open between October and early ‘07 in NYC, Denver, San Diego and Palo Alto, the company said.
Need more Apple connection? Gensler, the architects behind the Apple Store, are the ones designing the stories for Helio as well.
What this also means is that Helio’s expanding beyond its two-handset choice, with more higher-end phones....it is not releasing any details for now, but should be launched in the next month, I expect.
“We’re creating an environment where both members and potential members can come in and experience Helio in some pretty cool ways. No lines, boutique treatment, “spa” services for members (like device cleaning) - just a cool place to be”...that’s the description Helio’s PR gives of the retail environment it is going for. They’ll either fail spectacularly, or succeed at it like no other MVNO has.
Of course, when Apple comes out with its own phone, would be fun to watch the competition...methinks Steve Jobs and Sky Dayton should hook up and do this together...both have the chops, and the money, of course.
For everything Helio related, read our dedicated company page. More pics of the artist rendering of the Helio store layout, here on Flickr.