Switched On Mobiles opened in a prime Napier St location on Tuesday, and week one has already been a huge success.
The store is the latest enterprise by third generation locals, Michael and Olivia Morona.
Michael, who has an extensive background in telecommunications, is the son of Julie and Steve Morona, and Olivia is the daughter of Chris and Matthew (dec) van Zeyl.
Switched On Mobiles offers new Apple and Samsung phones, repairs and home internet, all powered by Telstra - a company Michael has worked with for almost a decade.
When the couple lived in Melbourne, he was a manager at Telstra’s Chadstone store - the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The couple then moved to Echuca, to be closer to home, where Michael continued to manage Telstra shops in the area.
The pair then saw an opportunity to take over at Switched On Electronics in Echuca, when the previous owners were ready to retire after 28 years.
They took over in October 2024, and said the experience so far led them to talk about expansion into other communities.
“It's always been our plan to grow and expand, and in Deniliquin,” Olivia said.
“We saw a real opportunity to have a shop that was stocked with all sorts of accessories, the latest phones, where people can come in and get their phones repaired professionally, and have access to all the Telstra services.
“We are licensed to offer all Telstra products and services - home internet, mobile phone plans, data transfers - as well as helping people with their Telstra Plus Points.
“And if people have any phone questions, they can just pop in.
“A big part of wanting to come to Deniliquin is even though we live away, we love the town. We grew up here, our family is all here, our parents and our siblings, so it is really important to us.”
Olivia said an important part of their expansion plan in the future would be employing more local staff.
“The staff have already done a month’s training with our team in Echuca, and really enjoyed it.
“We’re keen to get involved in the community as well.
“We will be sponsoring and getting involved with different causes and organisations that, we feel, are applicable to us.
“We’ve found success in Echuca hosting different free tech nights for the community, and we’re keen to do all that in Deni as well.”
Olivia said even as they work to build their stock, week one has already been a roaring success with a lot of comments on the shop design.
“I think it was 9.03am (on day one) and we had someone buy their first iPhone, so I thought ‘it’s okay we’re doing all right’.”
Switched On Mobiles is at 25 Napier St, Deniliquin and is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
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