EyesVision Enters Used Phone Distribution Business, Estimating 2 Trillion Won Market Following Budget Phone Success

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] MVNO (affordable phone) leading company listed on KOSDAQ, Eyesvision, announced on the 7th that it has signed a general agency contract with ‘Mintit’ to enter the rapidly growing used mobile phone (hereinafter used phone) market.

The domestic used phone market is estimated to trade about 10 million units annually, with a market size estimated at about 2 trillion KRW. Considering that the annual smartphone sales volume in Korea is about 18 million units, 60-70% of the sales volume is traded as used phones.

Eyesvision plans to enter a new business through the distribution contract with Mintit in this huge market.

Mintit operates the non-face-to-face used phone trading platform ‘Mintit ATM’. Consumers can conveniently and quickly sell used phones through Mintit ATM, not only gaining profits but also participating in resource saving and environmental protection activities through used phone recycling. About 5,600 Mintit ATMs are installed and operated nationwide in large marts, post offices, public institutions, and telecom agencies.

An Eyesvision official said, “We aim to differentiate customer benefits by moving away from the fee-centered affordable phone competition environment, expanding device bundling and used phone compensation prices, and expect to create various added values by participating in the used phone market. In addition, we plan to join the expansion of the used phone recycling ecosystem through the Mintit partnership.”

He added, “Currently, Eyesvision attracts an average of 15,000 subscribers per month centered on the affordable phone subscription platform ‘Eyesmobile’, and this provides an opportunity to compensate for the phones customers used before and meet various device needs of customers.”

He also stated, “By activating subscription types combined with Eyesvision’s affordable plans, which are more than 50% cheaper than existing telecom companies, we will contribute to extending customer retention periods.”

In addition to the affordable phone services of the three major telecom companies, Eyesvision, which operates an official SKT agency, said, “We will continuously provide promotions that allow customers subscribing through Eyesmobile to easily and conveniently sell their used phones, strengthening customer benefits.”

Furthermore, “Based on the general agency contract to broker and sell some of Mintit’s inventory overseas, we will secure B2B business and IoT services and achieve an annual sales vision of 100 billion KRW by 2025,” the company said.