This is how MacMan at Manor Royal went from a bike to business park - From the Manor

New to the Manor Royal Business District of Crawley is MacMan, a tech business offering Apple support, sales and repairs.
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In this week’s From the Manor column we caught up with Founder, Matt Edbrooke, who explained what attracted MacMan to the Crawley area and what they will offer the local community.

MacMan describe themselves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things Apple.

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At their various stores they offer walk-ins and appointments for Apple repairs by a team of experienced technicians on-hand to help with anything from a cracked iPhone screen or Mac data recovery to a system upgrade/repair or water damage.

MacMan describe themselves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things Apple.MacMan describe themselves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things Apple.
MacMan describe themselves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things Apple.

They also stock a wide range of refurbished Apple Macs, iDevices and accessories.

Commenting on their move to Manor Royal Matt said: “We’re excited to have opened our store and workshop here in Manor Royal.

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“The diverse nature of local businesses and local people really appealed to us. We also found the perfect premises that will allow us to expand moving forward.”

Finding suitable premises can be a challenge, particularly for smaller businesses.

That wasn’t a problem in the early days of MacMan that started in 2006 with Matt on a bike in Brighton cycling between clients with everything he needed on his back.

In 2009 MacMan expanded from one man on a bike to two men and a van. The pace of growth continued and now MacMan has opened stores in Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks - and now Crawley, which replaces their Horsham store.

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Expanding into new and bigger premises in a new location during a global pandemic is not ideal, such was Matt’s confidence in the business and his confidence in Crawley as a location. Being in the heart of the largest business park in Sussex with a huge concentration of businesses and people certainly helped to seal the deal.

Like a lot of businesses, the restrictions made life more complicated. Fortunately, MacMan were well placed to adapt, as Matt explained, “Keeping our staff and customers safe is important to us. We have a small fleet of vehicles which means we can provide speedy, contactless drop off and collection of repairs – especially useful to anyone self-isolating.

“We quickly made all our stores COVID secure and we have a rigorous cleansing process to ensure every product that leaves our shop is clean and safe.”

Even before COVID our shopping habits were changing. More sales were being transacted online and some well-known brands were disappearing from our towns and high streets. COVID had the effect of speeding up those trends.

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MacMan recognise that to be successful they have to be able to serve their customers in multiple ways, which includes on site, in store and online.

“Our online MacStore - themacstore.co.uk carries a large stock of refurbished, affordable and guaranteed MacBooks, iPhones, iPads and iMacs, while our MacMan Support plans are ideal for those moments when you need speedy, expert help.

“We offer a range of plans to suit all business types and sizes, including remote support which proved to be a lifeline for businesses - and home users too – especially during the lockdown, as the world switched to home working and schooling.”

It seems that MacMan are well-placed to emerge from the crisis and continue their pattern of growth here in Manor Royal. At the heart of it is all is people.

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As Matt puts it, “We’re a very friendly team! We’re looking forward to getting to know more of our neighbours here in Crawley and helping you with your tech woes and of course, welcoming you all in store!”

We wish them well on their journey.

Find out more about MacMan at www.macman.co.uk

Find out more about Manor Royal at www.manorroyal.org

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