now happening at c spire

Store offers hands-on, interactive approach to help customers discover, learn and select devices, apps, content, services and accessories to best meet their individual needs

Flowood, Miss. (November 16, 2015) – C Spire today unveiled its newly expanded 2,962 square foot, customer-inspired store in Flowood – promising to transform and redefine the retail shopping experience with a new, fresh approach that captures the imagination, discovery and excitement associated with shopping.

The redesigned store, located at 369 Ridge Way in the Lakeland Commons Shopping Center, is the result of more than a year of exploration and research by C Spire - all designed to deliver on the company's customer inspiration promise and bring to life a shopping experience like no other by creating a more interactive and inviting store environment.

C Spire held a grand opening for the store with a ribbon-cutting, reception and celebration featuring C Spire executives, Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads and local business and community leaders. Food, prizes and giveaways were part of the party atmosphere and program.

"Like all of our markets, Flowood is unique - so we designed our new expanded retail experience around the people who matter the most to us – our customers," said John Hopkins, director of consumer wireless sales for C Spire. "We looked at how consumers use technology and redesigned our store to reflect that reality."

Hopkins said the expanded and redesigned Flowood store delivers an interactive shopping experience that mirrors how customers live, work and play and will help the company move closer to its goal of becoming known as one of the nation's premiere retailers.

No detail escaped the focus of the team responsible for bringing the company's vision of a reinvented retail experience to life. Colors, store layout, designs, materials and service delivery all were scrutinized with the goal of appealing to a multi-generational cross section of consumers. The store is highlighted with reclaimed hardwood, Hopkins said.

Modular, Flexible Design

Everything inside the store is modular, scalable and designed for ultimate flexibility, according to Hopkins. The store highlights C Spire's consumer and business telecommunications and technology products and services, devices and accessories across four unique areas – explore, live, work and play.

• A new Live area features a smart tech display wall with devices, accessories and other applications that consumers can discover, explore and learn how they can be used in everyday life. The section focuses on topics like health, home security and entertainment.
• A Work section highlights products and services offered by C Spire Business Solutions, including demonstrations of "Find-me-follow-me," IP Voice device features, Push-to-Talk service, wireless phones, hosted Exchange email services and customer testimonials on touchscreen video displays.
• A Play area that encourages customers to shop and play in an open and interactive space. The area helps consumers understand and learn how apps, accessories and devices can work together.
• An Explore area has walls that highlight C Spire's diverse music accessories line up complimented by digital monitors with product information.

"C Spire is customer inspired and we want customers to feel that from the moment they walk through our doors," Hopkins said. "Our new retail design makes it easy for customers to learn more and fully immerse themselves in a personalized and relevant shopping experience."

Enhanced Service Experience

What consumers won't see in the newly redesigned Flowood store is the traditional retail "cash register" counters. Instead, those have been replaced with round "learning tables" that encourage natural conversations with C Spire team members, who are equipped with tablets supported by a point-of-sale system that offers flexibility for helping consumers anywhere in the store.

Customers also won't see printed product information common in most stores. That's been replaced by digital signage, e-brochures and interactive video monitors, offering consumers the information they want and need literally at their fingertips while giving C Spire the flexibility of updating messaging faster and more efficiently.

Store Details

The Flowood store's hands-on design aims to engage shoppers and provide a "try before you buy" customer inspired service experience, according to Brandon Brewer, market manager for C Spire in Flowood. Brewer and his eight-member staff are trained to assist consumer and business customers with individual purchasing decisions, customer-inspired service and technical support. Regular store hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"We're proud of our new store, but we're even more excited about continuing to contribute to the economic development of this region," Brewer said. The new retail location builds on C Spire's significant capital and network investments in Flowood and Rankin County, including availability of 4G LTE services that offers data speeds up to 10 times faster than previously available.

Rhoads praised C Spire for its continuing commitment to the region. "We're excited about this latest C Spire investment and the key role the company plays in helping meet the communication and technology needs of consumers and businesses in Flowood," he said. "C Spire is helping us fulfill our mission to provide a high quality of life for everyone who lives and works in our community."

Local business leaders echoed Rhoads' praise of the company's decision to continue its investment in Flowood. "C Spire's efforts to expand its retail operations and mobile broadband service in Flowood are critical to our future," said Jennifer Anderson, executive director of the 750-member Flowood Chamber of Commerce.

"Business development and expansion, along with advances in available technology that include provision of broadband speeds for wireless voice and data services and applications, make Flowood ideal for future economic development," Anderson said. "We appreciate C Spire's continued investment here."

For more information on C Spire's retail operations, network expansion and overall community investment, visit www.cspire.com.

About C Spire
C Spire is a diversified telecommunications and technology services company that provides customer-inspired wireless communications, 1-gigabit consumer Internet access and a full suite of Internet, wireless and data services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at http://www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit http://www.cspire.com or follow the company on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cspire.