Redundancy from another tech firm could have been the end of a journey for IT Central duo Lee Midlane and Brandon Grant.
Moray IT closed its doors in 2015, but the business partners knew there was still a growing gap in the local market for navigating technology problems.
Next month they celebrate their ninth anniversary in business together on Elgin’s South Street with IT Central.
In that time the company has grown from just the two of them to six employees.
And now the firm is expanding with the opening of a second store in the coming months focussed on custom printing after launching merchandise to promote Elgin.
- The Press and Journal visited IT Central to hear how the firm tries to be different from other tech firms.
- Why it is expanding and launching a range of merchandise to promote Elgin.
- How the firm has customers from as far away as the Middle East.
- Why its Elgin town central location on South Street is perfect for them and customers.
How IT Central tries to demystify how technology works
From the outset IT Central founder and chief executive Lee Midlane was adamant she wanted to provide technology solutions “differently”.
The team deals with common problems including mobile phone, laptop and tablet headaches and also provides support for businesses.
Instead of sterile white walls and an overwhelming wave of information, she wanted to strip it back and make it relaxed.
As a result, Lee explained the business has developed a reputation that has encouraged customers to visit through word of mouth.
She said: “I wanted to do it differently. Quite often you go into computer shops and they’re all white or covered in slat wall.
“Everybody has got technology in their life now, whether you’re a business or not. Kids are getting mobile phones earlier and earlier.
“We get customers that are as young as 12 and some that are in their 90s. Some of them go back to when we started nine years ago.
“We’re a trusted place to get help and advice now, word of mouth is huge. So many people to us saying we’ve been recommended to them by a friend.”
Brandon, who was just 17 when he helped launch IT Central, explained a focus on customer needs sets the business apart from national retailers.
He said: “My focus is always on the customer and their problem. It means more to me that I can help them, even if they go away to a big box retailer.
“What tends to happen there though is they get something doesn’t fix their problem, or they come away with some beyond what they need. The average person doesn’t know what to look for when they look at a row of laptops.
“We might cost a bit more, but you’re also buying our years or expertise.”
The Dubai crane operator who calls IT Central to fix his computer software
Laptops, mobile phones and tablets are the day-to-day at IT Central, but the Elgin firm also handles some more unusual tech problems.
Some of them come in form of different equipment, including control units from cars, neon lighting, sat-navs and baby monitors.
While Lee says 99.9% of their customers stay between Nairn and Cullen, some also come from further afield with some very specific IT demands.
She said: “We have a regular customer in Dubai who works in drilling and the computer he uses in his crane keeps going wonky.
“We’re the only people he’s found who have been able to fix his specific problem so he’ll drive the parts to us and we’ll send it back to him.
“Most of our customers are local, but we do have a few that come to us from further away. For example, we have a regular customer in Pitlochry.”
Why Elgin town centre location is perfect for IT Central
IT Central’s current home was once Hall’s Greengrocers but is most fondly remembered as Audrey’s Tearoom.
While the business has a shopfront you can walk into from South Street, most of its activity takes place away from public view.
Behind the scenes the squad of technicians repair and upgrade laptops, mobile phones and tablets causing bother.
It might be the sort of work some would associate with a business park or industrial estate.
However, Lee is adamant the Elgin town centre location remains absolutely critical to how IT Central operates.
She said: “You don’t walk past an industrial estate. By being central we stay in people’s minds for when they need us.
“We very deliberately chose South Street too because it has vehicle access. It means customers can use the loading bays if they’re dropping off or picking up.
“If we were on the High Street then people wouldn’t be able to park outside in the same way, so we very deliberately chose where we are now.”
Brandon added: “If we were on an industrial estate then you don’t really know what you would be next to. It could be a garage or workshop, which isn’t really the atmosphere we want.
“We wanted to be a different kind of IT shop. In the town centre you still don’t have control over what you’re next to, but you kind of know what it’s going to be.”
Why IT Central is launching range of Elgin merchandise
IT Central expect to begin work next month on a project that will bring another retail space to Elgin town centre.
The firm currently occupies two units on the corner of South Street and Harrow Inn Close.
The property also includes the first floor above the shop looking on to South Street, which has until now remained fit only for storage.
However, now the firm is preparing to begin work refurbishing the upstairs section for it to be used for IT Central’s tech repairs.
The move will free up space on the ground floor, which the firm will use to expand with a dedicated space for a spin-off called Box Brand.
As well as custom printing, the company has also launched a range of merchandise dedicated to the town of Elgin featuring motifs of the cathedral and Highland cows.
Lee said: “I really wanted to be able to do our uniforms, which we do now, but then ran off in a completely different direction of doing apparel and gifts.
“One of the things I noticed when we started looking into it was there’s nowhere within Elgin to buy good quality souvenirs dedicated to the town.
“When you go to Loch Ness you can buy anything you want, so we thought there was an opportunity to develop that here.
“At the moment we’re doing mugs, tumblers, towels, t-shirts, bags.
“We’re a small agile company so we can do minimum orders of bespoke printing of one, which you can’t do with online orders.”
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