Staymobile opens franchise location in Spartanburg
Staymobile, a service franchise providing electronic repair, accessories and protection for businesses and consumers, opened in Spartanburg last week, providing those who are dependent on handheld devices, smartphones and tablets a quick, local place to get them repaired.
“Our devices are extensions of ourselves,” says Brian Hammond, co-owner of the new Staymobile location. “Think about your daily routine. You lose or break your smartphone or tablet, and you’re derailed. How much time can you afford to waste to get back on track? This issue touches just about everybody, and that’s why we’ve invested in opening Staymobile in Spartanburg.”
Customers may bring their devices (tablets, smartphones, and computers) in for repair at 179 N. Church St. Hammond says most devices can be repaired in about an hour and 90 percent within the same day.
This is Staymobile’s sixth location and first in the Upstate. The business, formerly called SmartPhoneMD, was launched in 2010 out of the “back of a mattress store in Five Points in Columbia,” says Chuck Morrison, president and COO.
But with a rapid growth plan (the parent company plans to have 100 locations by 2015), management thought it would be a good time to rebrand, not knowing how long the smartphone reference would be around. Hammond believes the new name “has a broader reach,” and Morrison says the company intends to spread organically throughout the southeast from its Spartanburg launching pad.
To that end, Hammond and his business partners, Eliot Stone and Kevin Crowley, have purchased the franchise rights for not only Spartanburg, but also Greenville, Charlotte, Anderson, Asheville and Johnson City, Tenn. The partners already own seven Firehouse Subs locations and Bob’s Car Wash in Spartanburg.
Hammond says the partners saw an opening Staymobile could fill by observing family and friends needing a place to go to get their phones fixed quickly, with no such place available.
“We’re in the service business and in the trust business,” Morrison said. “It helps to have great franchisees like Brian, Eliot and Kevin, who all grew up in Spartanburg. It’s also a great location coupled with their great business relationships in the community.”
Hammond said customers can expect to pay around $90 to repair an iPhone 4 with a cracked screen and $180 for a cracked iPhone 5 screen. Other repairs such as a broken button or camera are usually less expensive. Staymobile provides a lifetime warranty on all of their repairs and their technicians are trained and go through background checks to ensure data privacy, Hammond said.
In addition to selling accessories such as cases, earbuds and local college logo accessories, Staymobile also will purchase old and broken phones.
“We’ll buy an iPhone 4 right now for about $40-$75,” Hammond said. Staymobile is also working with area schools and businesses to be their preferred repair provider.
The company plans to open the Greenville and Anderson locations early next year.
