Premier Technologies set to add two more sites

CNY Business Journal (1996+), May 30, 2008 by Martino, Kristina

MANLIUS - Wireless-communications distributor Premier Technologies LLC already operates 14 locations across Upstate and is planning to open two more in June, says Robin Kassel, vice president.

Premier Technologies, based at 201 Fayette St. in the village of Manlius, is a privately held wireless distributor that sells AT&T products and BlackBerry devices. Mueller is majority partner. Kassel and Mark Peters, president, are minority partners.

The 62-employee company is planning to open its 15th location June 1 in Cobleskill and its 16th location in Rome by June 15. The Cobleskill store will employ four and Premier Technologies is currently interviewing applicants in the Rome location.

Premier Technologies is opening a Cobleskill store because AT&T Mobility LLC recently acquired wireless provider Dobson Cellular Systems, Inc., which operated a store in Cobleskill. AT&T Mobility asked Premier Technologies to operate the former Dobson Cellular store in Cobleskill.

AT&T Mobility, formerly Cingular Wireless LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc., based in Atlanta, Ga.

Premier Technologies plans to open a second Rome store to expand its coverage in the Rome area.

"We are covering the Mohawk Valley aggressively," says David N. Mueller, CEO.

He says the company's major growth areas are in the North Country and Mohawk Valley.

In 2007, Premier Technologies generated $10 million in gross retail revenue (includes all sales and commissions), up from $2.5 million in 2002.

The 16-year-old company's hottest selling products are BlackBerry devices. He says this type of product will continue growing because only recently have non-business consumers started to actively buy and use it. About five years ago, Mueller says, products such as the BlackBerry were typically used for business purposes only.

Prior to starting his current company Nov. 19, 1992, Mueller owned a 5,200-square-foot electronics store called Nobles Audio-Video-TV in Carousel Mall. When he realized that the 100-square-foot cellular-phone area generated half the store's profit he decided to sell Nobles and make a commitment to selling wireless communications, he says.

He opened his first cellular-only retail shop in Ithaca in 1995 and called it The Cellular Shop and sold Nobles in 1998. Mueller then opened a store in Fayetteville but sold it about two years ago and bought the current 201 Fayette St. building in Manlius.

Mueller changed the company's name from The Cellular Shop to Premier Technologies LLC in 2007 when AT&T acquired Cingular Wireless. He changed the name to reflect all the products it now sells including cell phones, PDAs, and other data devices.

Premier Technologies operates 14 stores in Auburn, Baldwinsville, Cortland, Geneseo, Ithaca, Liverpool, Manlius, Massena, North Syracuse, Norwich, Ogdensburg, Oneida, Rome, and New Hartford. It owns four buildings in Manlius, Cortland, Auburn, and Fulton and leases the remaining 10 offices.

Premier Technologies owns its 2,729-square-foot headquarters in Manlius. Mueller bought the building, a former bank branch, from Oneida Valley National in October 2005 for $410,000. Its 2008 assessment is $475,300 according to the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Tax Services Web site.