Wireless service provider Sprint is doubling down on South Florida with more than a dozen new stores, creating more than 250 local jobs.
The Overland Park, Kansas-based company, which established regional headquarters in Doral last year, said it is working to expand its presence in the tri-county region by opening retail locations in neighborhoods that were previously underserved by Sprint (NYSE: S), such as Hialeah and West Palm Beach.
It expects to open doors to 15 new stores and hire about 250 employees locally by the end of 2018, said Claudio Hidalgo, president of Sprint’s Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands regions.
“This is about getting closer to our customers, and we plan to really target the whole region, but the South Florida area is a big focus for us,” he told the Business Journal.
Sprint in late 2015 re-strategized how it would extend its customer base. The plan, Hidalgo said, became to divide the United States, plus the Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands territories, into 19 regions, each with localized management to oversee all operations, including sales, customer relations and human resources.
“Since then we’ve seen the business growing within the different regions. This is just another step for that path,” Hidalgo said.
The wireless provider has also started to convert Radio Shack locations into Sprint storefronts. There will be a total of about 44 of these conversions throughout Florida.
Sprint is embracing the growing trend of customers buying online, including new cell phone plans, by increasing customer service offerings for digital transactions. However, there are still services that Sprint customers, or prospective Sprint customers, want “delivered immediately in person,” Hidalgo said.
“We’re strong on both channels — online and in store,” Hidalgo said.
New Sprint jobs in South Florida will be a mix of retail positions, operations and marketing. Those interested in applying can learn more about the jobs at sprint.com/jobs.
