The tech company keeping Manchester in Sync for nearly 30 years
Over three decades, Sync has played a crucial role in nourishing a restlessly creative city - helping to cement Manchester’s reputation as an artistic hub.
‘Silver linings’ has become a popular topic since the pandemic swept Britain.
It’s human nature to find positives even in the most disastrous of situations. The ability to look on the bright side keeps people going even when times are tough… and few of us have experienced anything as tricky as the past 10 months.
The biggest silver lining for many during this period has been tech.
If a government-imposed stay at home order had to happen, at least it was in 2020 – an age where tech is so powerful and accessible, we’ve been able to stay in touch with loved ones, earn a wage from home, and fill any furlough time by streaming box sets.
Even 10 years ago, things would have been very different.
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Tech has been deemed so valuable, in fact, that some shops have been classified as ‘essential’; meaning they’ve been permitted to remain open through lockdowns to keep the country running.
One of those is right here in Manchester: Sync.
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Based on Deansgate in the city centre, Sync was born of GBM Digital, who themselves were part of a design and print house set up in Ardwick all the way back in 1992.
Over the subsequent three decades, the company has played a crucial role in nourishing a restlessly creative city – helping to cement Manchester’s reputation as an artistic hub.
Sync has been so impactful over the years, in fact, that the company has acquired ‘partnership status’ with the quartet of software juggernauts: Apple, Google, Microsoft and Adobe.
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The business has teams across Britain, but the physical three-level Deansgate venue is considered something of a HQ – containing a tech shop, Apple service & repair centre, and a training and conference centre.
Throughout lockdown, Sync Deansgate remained a place where customers could get their Macs, iPads, iPhones, Watches and Beats under Apple warranty fixed – tracking the repairs every step of the way.
Booking slots are posted online – with customers sent specially-designed totes via a courier. People simply pop their device in the tote and the courier whisks it back – before delivering the fully-repaired product.
Sync has served as the city’s digital support network during this difficult period. But instead of simply providing emergency-style patch and fix work, the brand has also continued to raise the bar.
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For example, Klarna 0% finance has been made available for all Apple products from Sync (where baskets are under £1,000) – an offer unavailable anywhere else in the UK, let alone Manchester.
Sync is also the only company of its kind to provide full Mac configurators for schools and businesses – giving organisations the incredible power to build their own Mac for their own needs.
Staff are different, too – weighing with next-level aftercare for individuals and organisations.
Scott Bordoni, Head of Operations at Sync, described the company as a “tech business with heart”.
“Our goal is to inform and educate,” he explains.
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“Our teams practice a consultancy-first approach, utilising their technical expertise and industry knowledge to address key challenges for our customers.”
Adil Ladha, Digital Marketing Specialist, says it’s this very ideology that has set Sync apart from its competitors.
So often, a business-customer relationship barely stretches beyond the point of sale. But at Sync, they see the transaction as just the beginning.
“For us it’s about the development of long-term relationships,” Adil states.
“We put time, effort and energy into supporting our customers – giving them the opportunity to upgrade and futureproof quickly and easily whenever they desire.”
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Alongside repairs, one of the most valuable services Sync continued to provide during lockdown was training sessions – which were shifted online.
Scott says: “Prior to the pandemic, our teams were working at national scale, running and supporting over 280 days of face-to-face training and informational events per annum – all at zero-cost, in order to support businesses and schools.
“As key workers, our national teams remained in operation throughout the first lockdown, supporting businesses, public sector organisations (including the NHS), and schools – helping to ensure that other businesses, organisations and key workers were able to continue through the crisis.”
Sync delivered an astonishing 110 free skills-based training sessions to businesses and key workers during the first portion of the pandemic – all-the-while remaining on hand to keep IT systems fully functional.
Siding with the big boys has helped, of course.
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Sync’s direct line to Apple means that customers get the creme-de-la-creme of tech services, supported by the kind of insight and knowledge that you’d find at the Genius Bar.
Being closely allied with Apple on this many fronts looks impressive on paper. But it’s even more applause-worthy when you realise what’s required to get on the team.
Getting accredited by Apple doesn’t just involve firing off a charming email or launching a savvy piece of modern marketing that turns heads at Silicon Valley. Sync is tasked with repeatedly demonstrating the highest standards in knowledge and expertise – as well as frequently providing evidence of capability and performance.
It’s tough stuff, hitting such high standards day in, day out. But Sync staff appear to revel in the challenge.
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The brand boasts around 70 employees nationwide today – and some of them were at GBM when it launched 28 years ago.
The team have grown up together to build something quite special – and their reputation is spreading.
Scott adds: “Whilst the technology and deployment practices have updated through the years, our mission statement has continued to stay the same: Delivering customer-centric solutions via a consultancy-lead approach.”
The typically hectic stretch of tarmac on Deansgate has quietened down again in recent weeks due to Lockdown 2.0. But Sync is still operating.
The Barton Arcade site remains open for repairs by appointment only – with ‘collect and repair’ services available to anyone who can’t visit the store.
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Almost every single person in Manchester has relied on tech in some capacity to carry us through the toughest few months many of us can remember.
Teachers. Nurses. Office workers. Joe Public. We’ve managed to bear up and power through via laptop and phone screens.
Take tech out of the pandemic, and you’re left with a totally different picture – probably one with fewer businesses, isolated communities, and significantly lower morale.
Being in a digital era has at least offered something of a silver lining.
And it’s Sync that’s helped to keep that silver lining intact.
Business
Morrisons set to close more than 100 brand locations across the country
Danny Jones
UK supermarket company Morrisons is set to close more than 100 specific locations across the UK, including multiple here in Greater Manchester.
Despite still being considered one of the giants of the sector here in Britain, Morrisons is continuing its previously announced ‘restructuring’ by adding a number of other shops to the chopping block.
The chain had already announced that a slate of 50 Morrisons Cafes would be closing earlier this year, but now other brand branches are expected to follow suit.
While their major supermarkets will remain virtually untouched, several Morrisons Daily convenience stores, florists, pharmacies and Market Kitchens, like the busy lunchtime spot on Piccadilly Gardens – but don’t panic: the corner store itself is staying as far as we’re aware.
Fortunately, major mainline Morrisons supermarket locations look to be safe from closing. (Credit: JThomas/Jaggery via Geograph)
Despite insisting the business is in good shape and has a “bright future” ahead, Morrisons‘ chief executive, Rami Baitieh, confirmed that “a minority [of sites] have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.”
It’s also believed that 35 butchers’ counters and the same number of fishmongers are set to wrap up as part of the shake-up.
You can see the full list of Morrisons Cafes closing down below; thankfully, we Mancs have managed to avoid closures in this particular department.
Morrisons Cafe Locations closing
Bradford Thornbury
Paisley Falside Road
London Queensbury
Portsmouth
Great Park
Banchory North, Deeside Road
Failsworth, Poplar Street
Blackburn, Railway Road
Leeds, Swinnow Road
London, Wood Green
Kirkham, Poulton Street
Lutterworth, Bitteswell Road
Stirchley
Leeds, Horsforth
London, Erith
Crowborough
Bellshill, John Street
Dumbarton, Glasgow Road
East Kilbride, Lindsayfield
East Kilbride, Stewartfield
Glasgow, Newlands
Largs, Irvine Road
Troon, Academy Street
Wishaw, Kirk Road
Newcastle, UT Cowgate
Northampton, Kettering Road
Bromsgrove, Buntsford Industrial Park
Solihull, Warwick Road
Brecon, Free Street
Caernarfon, North Road
Hadleigh
London, Harrow, Hatch End
High Wycombe, Temple End
Leighton Buzzard, Lake Street
London, Stratford
Sidcup, Westwood Lane
Welwyn, Garden City, Black Fan Road
Warminster, Weymouth Street
Oxted, Station Yard
Reigate, Bell Street
Borehamwood
Weybridge, Monument Hill
Bathgate
Erskine, Bridgewater Shopping Centre
Gorleston, Blackwell Road
Connah’s Quay
Mansfield, Woodhouse
Elland
Gloucester, Metz Way
Watford, Ascot Road
Littlehampton, Wick
Helensburgh
Sadly, it seems that plenty of people saw this coming, with early reports of the off-license/corner shop-esque Daily shops following soon after cafes were confirmed to be closing back in March.
Morrisons closing 52 cafes, 17 convenience stores, and potentially 365 people redundant
Just before new NI tax laws kick in from next month
Retail is 10% of total UK employment, a notoriously low margin business
This is where Greater Manchester comes in, as a handful of florists and Market Kitchens in the region are to join the wider collection of closures by the end of the year.
Featured Images — Rodhullandemu (via Wikimedia Commons)
Business
Pizza Hut releases list of 68 branches set to close – including several in Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Pizza Hut has published its list of 68 restaurants that are set to close their doors, and includes several in Greater Manchester.
In case you missed the announcement earlier this week, Pizza Hut confirmed that it had entered into administration, and DC London Pie – the firm running the once-popular chain’s restaurants in the UK – had appointed administrators from corporate finance firm, FTI.
Since its start, Pizza Hut has always been known and loved for its family-friendly dining, particularly its popular pizza buffet, salad bar, and ice cream machine.
But business in the UK has been struggling for the chain for a while, and it had previously gone into administration less than a year ago, but that was when DC London Pie stepped in and saved the chain’s restaurants from insolvency.
Now though, some 1,210 people are due to be made redundant as 68 Pizza Hut restaurants close down.
Pizza Hut has released its list of 68 branches set to close their doors / Credit: Alan Hardman (via Unsplash)
Branches in Bolton, Tameside, Oldham, and Rochdale are among the locations in Greater Manchester set to close their doors, as well as several others in the North West like Liverpool, Preston, and Lancaster, and even major capital cities like Edinburgh and Cardiff.
11 delivery outlets are also set to close, which do not have indoor dining seating – however none of these are in Greater Manchester.
Luckily, a total of 64 branches have been saved as part of a rescue deal by American hospitality giant Yum! Brands, which owns the global Pizza Hut business.
Yum! Brands said it had bought the UK restaurant operation in a pre-pack administration deal, and the rescue has secured the future of 1,276 workers.
Full list of Pizza Hut locations set to close
Ashton-under-Lyne
Beckton
Bolton
Bournemouth
Bradford, Vicar Lane
Brighton, Marina
Bristol
Cardiff
Carlisle
Chatham
Clacton
Cortonwood
Crawley
Cribbs Causeway
Croydon
Dudley
Dundee
Durham City
Eastbourne
Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Fountain Park
Edinburgh, Kinnaird Park
Enfield
Falkirk
Feltham
Finchley, Lido
Great Yarmouth
Greenwich
Grimsby
Hartlepool
Hayes
Hereford
Huddersfield
Hull
Inverness
Kettering
Kidderminster
Lancaster
Leeds, Colton Mill
Leeds, Kirkstall Road
Leeds, White Rose
Liverpool
Llanelli
Lowestoft
Manchester Fort
Middlesbrough
Norwich
Oldham
Poole, Tower Park
Portsmouth
Preston
Reading Gate
Rhyl
Rochdale
Romford
Russell Square, London
Scunthorpe
Shrewsbury
Silverlink
Solihull
St Helens
Stratford-upon-Avon
Thanet
Truro
Urmston
Wellingborough
Wigan
Yeovil
A spokesperson for Pizza Hut UK said it was ‘pleased’ to secure the continuation of 64 sites to safeguard its guest experience and protect the associated jobs.
“Approximately 2,259 team members will transfer to the new Yum! equity business under UK TUPE legislation, including above-restaurant leaders and support teams,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
Nicolas Burquier, who is the Managing Director of Pizza Hut Europe and Canada, called Monday’s agreement a ‘targeted acquisition’, Sky News reports.