JEDDAH, 22 September 2006 — Three winners from Saudi Arabia received their prizes in 21kg gold bars in a promotion organized by a mobile phone provider at a ceremony held here yesterday.
Ahmed Abdullah Ali Hussein of Madinah won the grand prize of 15 kg gold, and Ruwaida Hassan Martaa of Jeddah and Ahmed Masoud of Riyadh 3kg each in the promotion organized by i2, a company founded in Saudi Arabia and headquartered in Dubai.
“I still can’t believe that I am the grand prize winner,” Hussein told Arab News. “I’ll donate part of my prize to charity and, among other things, will complete the construction of my house that is under way,” Hussein said.
All of them had purchased a mobile device from an i2 outlet in the Kingdom during the promotion that was launched two months ago. “It’s the first time that I’ve been rewarded for purchasing something I intended to buy anyway. Fifteen kg of gold is a very generous gift from i2,” Hussein said.
“We’re pleased with the success of this promotion, and the response and feedback we got from our customers,” Abdul Hameed Al-Sunaid, i2 president and CEO, said.
“With Ramadan around the corner, i2 plans to continue its momentum with promotional campaigns throughout the holy month,” Khalid A. Soufi, i2 regional manager for the Western Province, said.
Soufi described i2 as the region’s largest and most diverse mobile phone provider. It has more than 1,300 employees across 400 stores in 17 countries and offers technological solutions and services. In the Kingdom alone, it has 120 outlets and has plans to add many new stores.
The company’s outlets offer a wide range of mobile phones, PDAs, wireless technology, software, value added services and mobile accessories in the region. It claims to be the first mobile phone provider to offer a lifetime warranty and a comprehensive after sales maintenance program on all products purchased at its store or online. It has expanded its reach to include a magazine, a club, a café and other “innovative” support programs.