Starlink opening its own retail stores to boost adoption

Starlink is going to expand its retail presence beyond juggernauts like Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, or Best Buy with the opening of its own stores, it seems. SpaceX just posted its first dedicated Starlink Store Manager position with a $95,000 - $115,000 remuneration range plus bonuses.

The store manager position is for Bakersfield in California and marks the first time when Starlink has hinted at owning and operating its own retail stores. It is not clear if SpaceX is planning on a national chain of Starlink retail stores, or on just having them in flagship locations.

The managerial responsibilities include hiring Starlink store staff of "three or more employees" who will be consulting potential Starlink subscribers on hardware like the Mini dish that is now available at a 20% discount on Amazon, as well as available satellite Internet plans in person. The job requirements include both retail and technical background, with responsibilities like crafting of a strategy to maximize "store traffic and Starlink adoption."

In addition, the successful Starlink store manager position applicant should know all Starlink products and services in detail and may come from a technical background but have retail management experience, as both "hardware troubleshooting" and logistics software skills are recommended.

Starlink first started selling dishes in physical stores in Costco's Japanese branches, then Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, and other retail giants followed. It's the first time that Starlink is looking to open its own dedicated retail store to sell satellite Internet equipment and subscriptions, though, marking quite a change in the sales channel strategy as Starlink increasingly becomes an alternative to cable Internet providers.

With the newly acquired Dish spectrum and the launch of its V3 cellular satellite constellation, SpaceX may start selling 5G carrier services for phones with dedicated Starlink chips directly. The first dedicated store manager position certainly indicates that Starlink is preparing to become a mainstream Internet provider, retail presence included.