ManageMy Monthly - July/August 17 - issue no.002 by ManageMy

The Repair Network

Monthly INDUSTRY NEWS & PRODUCT RELEASES

INTERVIEW WITH: STU CONROY

Issue: 2 July/August 17

OEMS UNDER PRESSURE OVER FIRE SAFETY

HOW DOES PROTECTIONISM EFFECT YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN

ManageMy Our Partner Network As well as continuously improving and growing our consumer product, we have plans for the service and subscriptions we offer you too, and we always want to know what you think. We’ll make sure that before we introduce a new feature or service we get feedback from you first. This month we’d like to know what you would consider to be more valuable to your business:

Fixed Price repairs – We’ve had various consumer insights pointing in the direction that when considering getting something repaired or not, customers generally want to know roughly how much it will cost. Not knowing this is sometimes enough to stop them even being bothered to call and find out. Our belief and market research suggests adding the ability to have an “average cost of repair” or “repairs from £XX” field to our results would significantly increase the volume of customers who then decide to get in touch and book a repair.

Pick up and Drop off – some of the smaller appliance repairs in bigger cities already have “runners” or “couriers” who nip out of the shop, pick up the item to be repaired, take it back to the shop, then drop it back to the customer later the same day once it’s fixed. For a fee, of course. But from a customer’s point of view, if you’re willing to do the running about they’re willing to pay for it. So, it’s something we’ve seen work elsewhere in various industries and we’re open to the idea of designing and building a product feature to accommodate this, what’s your thoughts?

Tell us which solution you prefer and why OR do you have an issue that needs solving more urgently? We want to know how we can help. Tell us here: editorial@managemy.com ............................. Jamie McCoy Head of Marketing

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elcome back to ManageMy Monthly. As you’ll know if you read the inaugural issue - our launch was a resounding success! Off the bat we want to thank you for your decision to become part of our ever-growing network of repair partners. We will continue with the editorials most relevant to you and your business. In this issue, we bring you the hottest topics in the industry. We continue to use your feedback, along with the decades of industry experience within our team, to publish the most valuable content for you - our partners. We bring you regular updates from the wider repairs industry, supply chain white papers, any releases you should be aware of, top business tips and access to interviews with some of the biggest names from the world of repairs. In this issue we have an interview with one of the success stories in the mobile repair scene; Stu Conroy founder of activ8, iFix, and casehut. We’ve also got a guide to best practice techniques for retaining your customers and wider news from the white goods, home appliance and mobile markets. To ensure that we continue to bring you the best value content, our editorials will cover 2 months at a time. Allowing us to meticulously research our articles and pound the streets for the latest developments in the repairs industry. This issue will cover July and August, you can find even more regular content in your ManageMy Repairer portal. Visit the portal @ repairers.managemy.com

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THE REPAIR NETWORK

Westpoint Building 1, Westpoint Business Park, Paisley, PA3 2RB

Contributors Editor-in-Chief: John Bellingham Executive Editor: Jamie McCoy General Editor: Kieran Simmonds Design: Kieran Simmonds Branding: Phillip Haig

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Editor’s Welcome: Our general editor welcomes you to ManageMy Monthly

ManageMy Repairers: A recap of our offer to you as a repair partner

Product Releases: This issue we take a look at some of the more interesting home product releases Supply Chain News: How might the political climate affect supply chains in the repair sector

Issue number 2 • Online managemy.com • Editorial inquiries to editorial@managemy.com or 0141 2804150•

All material in this publication is covered by copyright. No part of the content within may be reproduced or transmitted in any form - in whole or in part without written permission from ManageMy. While care has been taken in the production of the magazine, no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions.

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Fast News: Updates in news across the industry and an overview of 3-D printing Wireless Repair News: Some highlights from the wireless repair sector

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Manufacturer News: In the last issue we looked at Whirlpool’s fire safety concerns, this time the industry in full

ManageMy Consumers:

We think it’s important you know the proposition we are offering to consumers, find it here

Business Tips (light): Top 5 apps for your staff party

Events: An overview of the events in July/ August you need to know An interview with: In this issue we speak to Stu Conroy about his success and move into the repair sector Get in touch: We want to hear your feedback see here how to do it.

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Interesting Home Product Releases In the last issue we focussed on the top wireless releases, this time we wanted to a take a look at some real stand out products, consider this the good, bad and ugly of home appliances. Don’t get us wrong, if you’re a repairer of home appliances these aren’t the products you’re most likely to see while out in the field (‘most popular’ in our next issue) but who knows? Maybe your client base does include someone with a £10000 fridge freezer or a salt shaker with mood lighting!

Samsung’s Family Hub Unlike most of the other appliances in our interesting list this fridge-freezer is one you may actually come across. The new fleet of fridges and fridge-freezers from Samsung is now on sale with 4 new models, up on its 6 releases from last year. With the cheapest in the line of family hubs coming in at £2000 it will still cost you to have a Spotify and Alexa enabled fridge. With LG, Whirlpool, Kenmore and others making inroads into the smart fridge market the price tag seems rather aggressive. The touch screen comes with impressive connectivity to other IoT lines, you can now answer the door without leaving your kitchen - see below (Ring Video Doorbell). Samsung are pushing the Family Hub fridge line to be the command centre for the rest of your home.

Tertill - the Garden Robot

Ring Video Doorbell

We’ve seen the Roomba - the automated vacuum cleaning system, it’s been around for a while now. Then came lawn mowing robots that gave you an extra hour on your Sunday. Now we have the Tertill, it’s a solar powered robot that will do the weeding for you. If you have caught the wisteria bug but have no desire for green fingers this could be the thing for you. This one’s interesting to us as it marks another step in AI powered home electronics as well as showing the capacity for crowd-funding to really get a product off the ground.

Ever missed a delivery that you really wished you’d been in to collect? Or have you ever tried to drop something off at someone’s home and had to rearrange because they happened to pop to the shops at the scheduled delivery time?

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This new gadget lets you answer the door from anywhere. The makers say that using your smartphone you can answer the door and tell the postman where the safest place to leave your parcel is or find out where the spare key is so repairers get in and repair whatever it is they’re there to repair. Although we think you’d need a very trusting client for the latter. The camera also doubles as a security system and has some rave reviews online.

Samsung’s Porcelain Fridge-Freezer

So Samsung has been lining up numerous Internet of Things home appliances for the past few years now, but I don’t think anybody expected this! Coming in it at a cool £10000 don’t expect to see this on your everyday repair run or in your local Curry’s. The fridge-freezer is part of the Samsung’s Chef Collection and is largely made of Korean porcelain. Porcelain is actually a very clever material for a fridge, porcelain is non-porous but that price tag is will unlikely be clever enough for your average customer to even consider paying that kind of price. On the Samsung website they describe the chosen material as optimistic... a bad translation of optimal we presume. Though we think optimistic is more appropriate.

SMALT - the Smart Salt Shaker Not the salt shaker we asked for, but, maybe, the salt shaker we deserve. This unusual piece of tech is just as bonkers as a £10000 fridge but the bemused faces around the office were more at its existence then it’s price tag. Another crowd funded project like Ring, and Tertill - this much needed invention is aiming to be a bluetooth enabled centre-piece for your dining room table. Yeah, really a bluetooth salt shaker. As well as mood lighting and, well... grinding salt, this shaker acts as a speaker. The speaker system is actually pretty good and would hopefully mean you wouldn’t forget the salt on your next picnic or camping trip. Described by the culprits, I mean, manufacturers as a conversation starter, it comes with full connectivity to Amazon Echo. Make a request to Alexa via a voice command and Smalt will start grinding, no need for any strenuous wrist work.

Check back in the next issue for the most popular home appliances right now.

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How will an Era of Protectionism affect your supply chain? Some say the Era of Globalisation has come to an end. The rise of nationalism, globally, is clear to all. Some nations are taking a step back from the global market place (protectionism) and others are redefining their ties to long term trading partners. But as one nation steps back, another will step in – are we entering a New Era of Globalisation?

he political status quo has been turned on its head; with a US president embracing protectionism, the European Union riling over Brexit and close calls in the Dutch/French elections – not to mention Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping increasingly exerting their power on surrounding nations. These geopolitical shifts are part of a broader change, set to redraw the map and force businesses into a rethink.

For 20 years the focus of global manufacturing has migrated to Asia, with Latin America and Eastern Europe countries being viewed as the other cheap manufacturing alternatives. Companies have continually

concentrated their cost reduction companies have primarily turned to efforts in exploiting labour arbitrage Asia for their cheap labour needs. For opportunities and the promise of a manufacturers, deciding where to rapidly growing market. But, with build a plant that could supply the the cost advantage of outsourcing to world was simple; with countless Asia shrinking, huge strides in robotic countries offering cheap labour with manufacturing and, the shift towards China being the preferred option for a mindset of protectionism changes most. Year-on-year wages in China are afoot – your supply chain will be increase by 15% to 20%, meaning affected. Slow, but steady changes that producing on the east coast of in wages, productivity, supply chain China is now only fractionally more risks, energy costs, currency values cost-effective than many US states. and other factors are quietly but This, among other causalities, has significantly redefining the cost com- been the kicker that motivated petitiveness of global manufacturing. Walmart to commit to sourcing Mexico is now cheaper than China an additional $250 billion worth and Brazil has among the highest of products from US markets. The manufacturing costs. Who would demand for goods in China will have predicted that 10 years ago? increase in line with wage increases and multinational companies will Asia’s shrinking cost advantage need to devote more capacity to For the best part of 3 decades, serving that market. This will mean

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Most Protectionist Policies since 2008

Low (0) to High (Over 800)

inevitable increases in costs-to-import. These policies, divisive as they may be could herald a home-coming for manufacturing, we know this is Trump’s intention, and companies have already made moves to Copyright © F ree Vector Maps.com U.S. based manufacturing sites.

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A shift towards protectionism. manufacturing is likely to move to lower-cost labour countries, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mexico. But these nations do not have the infrastructure or skilled workers to absorb this demand for cheaper labour. The map of most cost effective countries to manufacture from is being redrawn. One of the world’s biggest brands (Adidas) has already decided to start withdrawing from outsourced manufacturing and instead is trialling the use of robotic manufacturing techniques in Germany.

Advances in manufacturing tech

With Adidas already making the move to a “relocalised” automated manufacturing structure and, with it, nullifying the bad PR that is inherent with using cheap labour - it is safe

A political shift towards protectionism is already sweeping the global stage. Companies are already feeling the effects of uncertainty, with geopolitical risk on the rise in developed markets. Businesses were ill prepared for the rise of populism over the past year – and now companies must refocus their lens’ when assessing geopolitical risks. The key word when the media realised Trump really was going to be elected and Britain was really going to leave the European Union was… uncertainty. Unfortunately for businesses in these nations, this will be the go to term for some time yet. However, some things are becoming clearer, with the new U.S. government proposing a border tax and the U.K. government seeking a mandate to leave the EU with no trade deal, businesses will need to be ready to absorb the

now companies must refocus their lens’ when assessing geopolitical risks

How does it affect the Repair Sector?

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to assume other companies will be watching closely. But, it isn’t just labour wages that are eroding the cost advantage of a Chinese based supply chain, the advancements made in robotic and mechanical manufacturing will continue to diminish its export platform. Robotic engineering isn’t new, it has been roughly four decades since mechanical arms on assembly lines have been able to monotonously pick up and place objects. Yet when you stroll through the biggest manufacturing plants around the world you’d be surprised by how many tasks are only trusted to human hands – even if a robot could do the job. It is still less expensive to use manual labour, but as Adidas would testify to a change is coming and the real robotic revolution is set to begin. Some industries, within the next decade, are expected to rely on robotic manufacturing by up to 40%.

With geopolitical risks for businesses showing no sign of abating, especially in developed markets, and Asia (as mentioned in our last issue); globally all industries need to respond. The repair sector is one that is heavily reliant on imported goods (primarily from China) and this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. With the focus in the repair sector turning to quality parts as businesses look for accreditation from Apple and the likes it seems unlikely there will be any major shifts in the short term. The expected financial outlay of relocalising manufacturing and improving quality may prove difficult for businesses to absorb. The reallocation of global manufacturing and the robotic manufacturing are in their adolescence and will take some time to see exactly how the manufacturing map will be redrawn. But protectionism is here now, the effects will come fast. Will an inward-looking West bring prosperity as manufacturing sites look back to birth-place of industrial manufacturing? .......................................................................... Article by Kieran Simmonds

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F A S T

N E W S

AO Posts £12M Loss

Once one of the favourites of the industry AO is now posting a loss.

Hoover pension

The pension scheme at Hoover is being moved to a Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

Whirlpool buys Yummly

Recipe recommendation App. has been bought by Whirlpool, a sign of intent to meet the needs of the next generation of white good customers.

Google to pay £2.7 billion to EU for breach of trust in it’s searches

Due to a “breach of trust” by prioritising it’s own services EU is fining Google double what the worlds biggest search engine expected.

Virus sweeping Europe effecting multiple sectors

Time to update your security, now. Petya ransom ware sweeps Europe only months after the WannaCry took down much of the NHS.

Net Neurtality debate draws in more of the biggest online brand

Netflix has joined the debate over Net Neutrality, and campaigners are delighted to have their backing in the fight.

COULD 3-D PRINTING REPLACE SMALL PARTS MANUFACTURING? Experts are predicting that within 3 years, at least 80% of 3-D printing will be focused on the finished product, but the capacity is there to produce small and limited-batch pieces and that is threating to disrupt the spare parts market – as Forbes reported last month. Mercedes-Benz, Deatsche Bahn, Siemens and BMW are already using 3-D parts for products, as computer-aided design (CAD) files save on space, production time and limit the risks of supply chain hiccups. With major companies adopting 3-D printing like this, it is surely only a matter of time before 3-D printing

is cost effective for small businesses to whip up a part inhouse. Logistics companies are likely to profit from adopting 3-D tech thanks to distribution centres and warehouses being the first in line to adopt the benefits of printing and shipping from through the established networks – 3-D printing in the back of your van or water closet is still some way off. These logistics companies could tap into an industry projected to generate £300 billion by 2030. Seeing the potential for 3-D printing as a service, UPS continues to

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expand its UPS On Demand service, which makes the technology available to manufacturers within 24 hours. Currently, the service is mainly used for prototypes, but the Forbes article suggests the model could be used for spare parts delivery as well. In the case of UPS, the logistics provider’s global network allows it to promise that 24-hour service through various production facilities. What do you think? As a repairer finding that that notoriously hard to find part could be made simpler if it was made down the road, or better yet in the store room.

Drone Repair, the next big opportunity in the repair sector

According to the officiants in the drone racing scene, it takes a hell of a lot of skill to pilot these things - depending on how you plan to use them. This is something the makers of drones are beginning to realise with many now implementing after

sales services. One of the bigger drone brand out there is DJi and recognises the need for an after sales strategy. “Customer experience and after-sales service are important in building a brand and strengthening our relationship with customers,” said Frank Wang, DJI Founder and CEO, in a released statement.

products. For out of warranty repairs existing wireless repairers could the perfect platform to step up into what inevitably is going to be a huge market. The most common repairs are for drones are: • Outer shell replacement • Motor maintenance

It’s only recently that the drone manufacturers have needed to offer a warranty with their

• Circuit board maintenance\ •Leg replacement

Nokia is back, and it’s bringing the 3310 with it... The cult classic has returned to market for the first time in 15 years, the revamped version of the classic mobile has garnered a lot of attention. Although the reaction to its release has come with it’s fair share of scepticism it is still seen as a good option if you feel you don’t need all the features the current smart phone offer. Carphone Warehouse’s MD Jeremy Fennell is certainly excited about its ability to push sales and with limited stockists Carphone Warehouse will be hoping it’s more than a pang of nostalgia.

GALAXY S8 Mobile phone repairers rejoice! Marketed as the phone with the infinity screen made entirely of glass - its no surprise its proven to be as fragile as it’s marketing would suggest. Soon after Samsung launched its latest instalment of its most popular (and

THE MOST BREAKABLE PHONE EVER?

expensive) line of smart phones it was tested by SquareTrade (a US based electronics insurance company). They said “S8 is the first phone we’ve tested that’s cracked on the first drop on ALL sides”. Leading to claims it is the most breakable phone of all time.

The wrap-round glass screen is the reason behind the phone being this easy to break. The good news is that the parts for the S8 are far easier to source then previous instllments in the ‘S’ line.

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OEMs under the spotlight.

ast month we explored the ongoing fire safety risks associated with Whirlpool tumble-dryers, now, after the tragic events at Grenfell Tower the topic of white goods fire safety has been cast further into the spotlight. It has since been revealed that it was a Hotpoint (owned by Whirlpool) fridge-freezer, was the initial cause of the blaze in the Borough of Kensington. The model which had never been subject to a recall, is now being investigated for ongoing fire risks. We must add that as it stands no blame is expected to be aimed at Hotpoint as quite clearly any fire in a tower block should be contained to the flat in which it started.

caused the fire to start at Grenfell Tower, this raises serious questions about the safety of these products. If this model is found to be faulty, a full product recall must be implemented swiftly by the manufacturer so that any at-risk products are removed from people’s homes.” Which? headed up the campaign aimed at due to the tumble dryer fire warnings for the government to intervene. Which? petitioned for the issue to be debated in parliament and is likely to continue to advocate for such discussion as more . It is now the responsibility of the manufacturers to ensure every possible precaution is taken to make their products safe, or more fires are almost certain.

It was late May when it was announced that Beko had become the latest manufacturer that needed to publicly address fire safety issues However, pressure has been within its product line. Hundreds of growing in recent years for OEMs to address fire safety concerns and this tumble dryers were thought to be at risk and the component that is latest horrifying disaster will further now known to overheat has caused put them under the microscope. Metropolitan Police Detective Super- 20 fires, with one fire last year killing intendent Fiona McCormack said that mother-of-two Mishell Moloney in her if Hotpoint do find further faults that home. The model of tumble dryer could cause fires that there must be (Beko DSC85W) caused the deadly fire, along with 20 other instances in a recall. Alex Neill, from consumer which fire broke out. Beko released a group Which? added: “If it turns out statement amid the safety concerns that faults in this fridge-freezer Washing Machines (1723)

Microwave (427)

Tumble Dryers (1456)

Grill/Toaster (495)

Dishwashers (1324)

TV (372)

14% 12% 11%

4% 4% 3%

Cookers (1080)

Electric Blanket (236}

Fridge-freezers/Fridge (8610)

Washer Dryers (225)

Central Heating (606)

Irons (92)

9% 7%

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“As part of our ongoing monitoring we have identified a batch issue with a third party supplied component which in rare circumstances could fail and overheat, which could lead to a risk of fire,” the alert said. With five models affected, it is possible to estimate up to 3500 machines that are unsafe for use. In response Beko has now initiated a repair program that will repair the faulty part free of charge - and they’re reaching out to customers to implement this scheme. In comparison, Whirlpool sold millions of dryers over an 11-year period that have since been deemed a fire risk and only last year advised they should not be in use. In the day's following the Grenfell block going up in flames the Evening Standard released an article claiming white goods are the cause of one fire every day. Around 15% of all fires in the home start because of a home appliance fault. “Every home has a fridge or freezer and the chances are it will be plugged in and working safely for years but it is no exaggeration to say that they are potentially the most dangerous household appliances if they are involved in a fire.” Rita Dexter, former deputy commissioner of London Fire Brigade stated. We would urge anyone who thinks they may have a faulty product to check www. electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk or gov.uk (link below) to check if their appliance has been recalled. ........................................................................... For a comprehensive guide on the products that have been recalled visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/household-appliancesrecalled-due-to-fire-risk ........................................................................... Article by Kieran Simmonds

2% 2% 1%

(Proportion and number of fires caused by faulty appliances between January 2011 and March 2014 based on government fire data.) Source: Which?

ManageMy Connecting Consumers to Repairers The ManageMy vision is to revolutionise the way we manage our home and mobile electronics. We want to make it effortless to register all your electronics, store warranty details, find repairers when things break or just click a button to find the cheapest place to buy a brand-new replacement. All of what we design and build is shaped by you, so we’re always keen to find out what sort of things you’d like to see us add. How could we improve the features we have? A booking engine when sorting a repair? Other things around the home you’d like to see managed in one place? Send us your thoughts, feedback and ideas to editorial@managemy.com and we’ll print the best ones each month. ............................. Jamie McCoy Head of Marketing

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Top 5 (Fun) Apps for your Staff Party In the last issue we looked at the top apps for businesses, this month we lighten the load. Work is suposed to be fun remember? We’ve compiled a short list of the very best of group games, best enjoyed at your work party but suitable for most social situations or evening in with the family.

Dance Party - Free

If Karaoke isn’t your thing maybe you’re more of a dancer? Even if you’re not it’s always fun to watch others try pull their best moves out. The aim is to recreate the moves on the screen and the other players judge your moves. Expect to see some very dodgy 80’s wedding style dance moves.

Who Can’t Draw? - Free

This fun hangman-esc style game has you guessing the terrible drawings of your fellow participants. Working out the garbled message of the last drawer offers endless hilarity. Once it’s your turn to guess you have a brief moment to interpret the drawing and copy it. The round ends when the best and worst drawer is found.

Heads Up! - £0.99

This brilliant quick fire charades game will have you impersonating Al Pacino and acting out a host of movie scenes. The guessing player holds their smart phone on their forehead, while the group in-front doing their best to have the guesser work it out.

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Bloop - Free This game is intended to be used on a tablet and has you and your rival bloopers think fast to hit the coloured screen. Fingers and hands will collide as the colours move faster. Expect shouting and possibly some passive aggression.

Sing! Karaoke - Free

You’ve always wanted to hear your boss belt out there best ‘heart will go on’ impression haven’t you? No? Never-theless you could shell out £20 for a basic karaoke system but with this free App. you can have the office singing on the cheap. If the phone or tablet screen is too small you can hook it up to your TV.

Events July/August 2017 Manufacturing & Engineering North East 05th - 06th of July Newcastle-upon-Tyne Cyber Crime - Protect your Business 5th of July Hampton Court - East Molesey Ideal Homeshow 08th - 11th of July Event City Manchester International Conference on Electronics Network 10th - 12th of July Cambridge Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition 11h - 12th of July Birmingham The Industrial IoT Revolution 13th of Jul Cocoon Networks - London Salvage Show 15h - 16th of Jul Park Plaza - London

25 Restart Party 15th of July Restart HQ, Leytonstone - London CanJam London 15h - 16th of Jul Park Plaza - London Tech City 4th of Augst WeWork Old Street - London Leeds Digital 4h of August Entrepreneurial Spark - Leeds IoT products 10th of August Cocoon Networks - London Golang UK Conference 16th - 18th of August Park Plaza - London Microsoft Project 23rd of August Technology House Stratford upon Avon

July/August 2017 ManageMy Monthlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;15â&#x20AC;&#x201A;

In conversation with:

STU CONROY T

his month we speak to the successful entrepreneur Stu Conroy, who after leaving his banking job in the Square Mile co-founded smartphone accessories company Activ8 (with his wife Zoë), and since teamed up with Case Hut. Both enterprises have flourished in a saturated mobile accessories market. Now he’s taken to the repairs industry with his latest project iFix. He along with the iFix co-founder Simon Lasota, want to change the game by improving customer satisfaction across the sector. They want to build consistency in the repairs market, ensuring the customer knows what they’re entitled to. With stores in Watford, High Wycombe and Stafford he’s found a market for top-quality repairs. Read on to see how the man was made and where he wants to take his latest enterprise.

Hi, Stu, could you introduce yourself to our readers? What is your working experience, and what does your portfolio look like now? I’ve had a range of jobs from golf caddy on the European Tour, teaching English in Cambodia to taxi driving in Australia. I landed a job in banking and managed to grow quickly in the role to a senior management position reporting to the board of a German bank as an IT Business Analyst. It’s been an amazing journey and through highs and lows, I’ve learnt more and more about running a business…. which is an endless journey. We have Activ8, Case Hut and iFix How did you get to this point? In 2000 I realised I wasn’t cut out for a life in big corporates and embarked on building websites. That journey has evolved through an awarding case manufacturing venture to today where we have a holistic portfolio of projects. The buying patterns of consumers have changed and we felt that the need to be at the forefront of this change was crucial to our long term goals. We have Activ8 which

provides services from fulfilment to SEO, PPC and Online strategies for several brands, Terrapin cases which we have won manufacturing awards for, Case Hut which showcases the brands and designs of leading accessory brands and of course iFix which we joined up with Simon Lasota with the lofty ambitions of making the repair process better alongside the provision of the best accessories. We’re advising some big retailers on their repair management and hopefully improving the customer journey across the board. What motivated your career change from banking to smartphone industry? I don’t treat money lightly but you realise being well paid and not enjoying what you’re doing leads to a long life for the wrong reasons. The internet was just the start and people around me seemed to be getting more excitement in their through working for themselves and being in control of the outcomes. I didn’t feel that was possible in the corporate environment for myself. The e-commerce revolution was only really

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starting as payment providers and other elements emerged. I taught myself how to build, initially awful, websites. It has been an amazing journey since then so glad I made the move. Most entrepreneurs will move from within the industry they are in but from banking to phone cases and now repairs, steps that if I had thought about for any length time I wouldn’t have done. Sometimes it pays to be thoughtless in your actions and just go for it. Did you have an icon or an inspirational figure that drove you to emulate their success? I’d love to say yes but in those days, there was far less exposure outside of books to have inspirational figures. I was lucky enough to spend time with Sir Richard Branson in South Africa and I’ve sat with so many inspirational people from James Caan to Lord Bilimoria who have all given insights into what works for them. I’m really interested in what Simon Sinek has to say as I believe he really understands today’s world and seeing him at a recent event you understand that all his knowledge is built from

putting yourself out there learning the whole time. I owe most of my drive to my dad who worked endlessly during a different era to look after his family and sacrificed opportunities so his family could take theirs. What are your goals for the future? We want to be part of the improvement in customer satisfaction when it comes to phone and tablet repairs. From providing the best parts, the best-trained technicians and best customer services we are looking to build on what we have started. The consumer is rightly demanding the best practices and we see the opportunity to improve the repair process that will favour the best repairers and managers in our sector. We are developing iFix well after a fairly problematic start when we couldn’t understand many of the practices that existed in the industry. We are continuing to work on getting the best accessories in front of the customers as often the best products might not have the best SEO or marketing team so

we feel the customer loses out. On a day-to-day basis, what are the biggest challenges you face in the repair sector? Consistency and consumer awareness. We always looked at the fact that you might be in a market and be in front of the best repairer in the country but you go to the next market or shop and you might be in front of the worst. There is no consistency outside of the big players, who in themselves can be inaccessible through location related factors. Our systems for training are really exciting and Simon Lasota is producing some amazing innovations in the sector which is at the forefront of what we are doing in iFix. Do you have any advice for people just starting out in business? Or those looking to take the plunge into business ownership? Where to begin. It’s not for everybody and people shouldn’t be hung up on starting a business or being entrepreneurial. There is also a big difference between running a small

business and being entrepreneurial. On the flip side of that I would say don’t talk yourself out of it through fear of the unknown. If you have a good idea I think it is worth running it past people who have been there. A good mentor can help you plan and that is half the battle as you will struggle to communicate your ideas and vision to others without a plan. What should prospective entrepreneurs be reading? And, who in your opinion should they be following? A great read that was recommended to me only recently was the eMyth by Michael E. Gerber. I’m not sure it would have meant so much if I hadn’t made many of the mistakes he highlights. I’d also read the books of Simon Sinek as it applies to today’s market and attitudes within the workplace. I wouldn’t over-read as I’ve seen many peers follow the latest idea they have read as they put down each book. Interview continued overleaf...

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In conversation with: Stu Conroy cont. What was driving the force when setting up iFix? Where did you and Simon see gaps in the market? I’d had bad experiences myself and we’re now talking about devices that are closer to £900 so you want to be sure your repair is in good hands. I wanted to go somewhere that gave me confidence when getting a repair. This is not to do a disservice to those capable technicians are there but how does somebody identify a good one. Simon used to be a customer of mine at Activ8 and when I looked into setting up iFix I realised he had already started it. It basically took an hour conversation for us to both be convinced that we were both on the same page and look to develop iFix. Simon had been repairing phones and had seen the issues with so much of the supply chain and had started to revise his working practices for improvement. (He’s the brains in the company.) What do you think makes iFix unique? We have various elements that are unique from our training practices to our methods of Net Promoter Score checking to ensure we are constantly improving. Our parts are the highest quality and we back that with our warranty which matches the big players. Our technicians are all centrally trained and are only allowed to repair devices they are signed off on. We believe in repeat, repeat, repeat to bring excellence. What should we expect from iFix in the future? We are working with like-minded companies in the industry to consult and train their staff. We’re excited as it’s not the vision we started with but at the heart of our vision is improving the repair

experience and making sure the best repairers are recognised as such. The customer has to get the best experience at a fair price and all of our work is centred around this. Could you tell me more about your plan to standardise repairs? Or the iFix training program? Our training and our quality control are standardised and we want to help those repairers who want to perform the best repairs in the UK. This is not an iFix thing but many repairers would like to do a better job but are in an industry that doesn’t always allow this. We had set out to do this on our own but have found many like-minded repairers and retailers who also want to get involved. Our training program is internal at present but we hope to launch a certificated program in the near future which will enable the rolling out of our techniques. This is all supported by an online support service which assists all technicians with latest techniques, issues and updates. As we saw with Error 53 the industry can get a bad press across the board and we want to be at the forefront of helping our peers. This is about the customers, not just iFix. How do you think repair businesses can maintain trust and ensure customer retention? We run systems to follow up on every repair to ensure satisfaction levels are suitable. We are certified for Data Protection and all of our store staff are trained to a high standard not just in repairs but in customer relations. We have a cracking team who are all willing to learn and put the customers first. We are in challenging times financially as a country and you can sense this on the high street where price sensitivity is huge. We educate on the

difference between cheap and value and feel that more and more people are understanding why a cheaper screen will break more easily. We don’t really market beyond our Google rankings so as much as 80% of our traffic comes from word of mouth. Customers who use us recommend us which speaks volumes. What marketing tools do you use to bring in more customers? We’re reviewing this but up to this point, it’s been more word of mouth recommendations. We have some big stories coming out this year provided all contracts get signed and we will start shouting a little bit more at that point. Within the industry, we are well known for what we are doing, how we look in the store and right now it’s about getting more repairers coming on board who share our vision to provide better services to the consumer. What do you think is the most common mistake or oversight repair businesses make? It is tough out there and compete on the high street but we have managed to take a holistic approach. We are working with insurance companies, schools and businesses and if you are just looking at the consumer on the high street then you leave yourself open to a huge amount of competition. Somebody can always do it cheaper. The most common mistake for me would be not contacting iFix to see how we could help them.

.................................................................... For more information on Stu Conroy’s and his co-founders business visit: www.ifix.co.uk www.a8uk.com www.casehut.com

.......................................................................... Interview by Kieran Simmonds

18 ManageMy Monthly July/August 2017

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