“I revived my business by returning to Ladywell high street,” says TK, the owner of Revive My Device, the mobile phone and tablet repair shop.
TK set up his shop in Ladywell but then found bigger premises in Catford.
“We spent a lot of money on the Catford premises and had high hopes of a bigger footfall”
“It didn’t work out as expected. I suppose we didn’t do our due diligence.
“We thought we’d keep 50 per cent of our Ladywell customers – we barely kept 25 per cent,”
He admits the move was a complete disaster. He was faced with either closing the Catford shop or shutting down his business altogether.
“We found a different market in Catford. We offer quality and you have to pay a little more for that.
“Luckily our old shop in Ladywell came back on the market … so we didn’t hesitate. We moved back.
“I think Ladywell appreciates its local shops.”
TK – Tichaona Chisango – studied business administration at uni but always helped repair his friends’ mobile phones. But it took a while for him to set up his own business.
He worked in M&S in Richmond – in the women’s wear department, he smiles.
Later he worked in phone shops and eventually became an O2 guru in a City store. He got to know everything about mobile phones but found the work restricting.
“I wasn’t allowed to repair damaged devices.” He tried setting up his own store in the Barbican but it lasted three months.
He joined an iPad repair company and was given lots of training. In 2014 he decided to strike out on his own again – this time in Ladywell. It worked.
TK now runs a busy repair business from his shop at 79 Ladywell Road working with schools, law firms and businesses across London as well as customers who drop in to the store.
He’s keen to expand by setting up more branches, employing more people, and serving more businesses. Ladywell wishes him well.