Costco’s mobile sales partner Wireless Advocates suddenly shut down today, laying off all employees without notice. The T-Mo Report has now obtained an audio recording of the conference call the CEO made to employees early on Monday.
Embedded below, the clip features Dan Brettler, CEO of Wireless Advocates and Car Toys, giving the bad news about the company.
Brettler, who has been CEO of the company since it’s founding in 2004, starts by sharing the news that Wireless Advocates is closing effective immediately. He then details how final paychecks will be handled. After the formal message, the CEO then goes on to explain the reasons behind the shutdown.
The CEO explains how the company faced serious supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic that still persist to this day. He also shares how the emerging 5G technology did not spur the demand that they hoped.
Recently, the company decided to end their partnership with the military. Brettler explains that since the pandemic began the demand in the military sales channel had dropped by close to 50%, and was not as robust as it once was. The drop never recovered, and was not expected to, so the decision was made to end sales with the military.
Soon after, however, Costco informed Wireless Advocates that they would not be seeking a renewal of their partnership with the company at the end of the current contract. This, combined with no more military sales, essentially left Wireless Advocates with no available sales channels.
Brettler also mentions prior forays into other sales channels. They once had locations in Staples stores around the country, but that presence did not end up working out. Nor did a startup presence partnered with Samsung. Finally, a test presence in Walmart stores proved successful, and the company tried to expand into more locations. However, discussions with Walmart failed due to the inability to agree on terms.
The CEO ends the call thanking employees for their service over the years.
It’s unfortunate for the many employees that they no longer have a job to go to. We hope they all find employment elsewhere as we go into the holiday season, and we wish them the best.
