DERBYSHIRE, UK – 22 November 2022 – The business marked a quarter of a century since the launch of its first shop in Alfreton with a black-tie event.
A1 Comms celebrated 25 years since CEO Paul Sisson founded the company’s first shop in Alfreton alongside Shop Manager Tonia Baldwin and Shop Assistant Adam Chadwick – now the B2B Sales Director and Commercial Director, respectively.
“The showroom couldn’t have been more than one hundred square feet and comprised of a table, three chairs and a bookshelf,” recalls Paul. “We settled on A1 Comms as a name because back then we just wanted to get top of the listings in the Yellow Pages – no one had heard of Google in 1997.”
Going from strength to strength over the years despite the tough industry, A1 Comms has continued to expand as other high street and digital brands ceased operating. The company has also won countless awards for business and retail since opening and branched off into numerous successful B2B and B2C brands, such as Affordable Mobiles and Buymobiles.
“We’ve seen new networks come into the market like EE and Three, and watched networks like Orange, T-Mobile and BT Cellnet rise and fall,” says Sales Director, Tonia. “Products and manufacturers have changed significantly over the last 25 years, from Motorola MR30s and Nokia 5.1s to the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy Devices that now rule the industry.”
Though A1 Comms is now a nationwide company, many of the staff are still based in Alfreton and the Derbyshire area, and its Derby-born-and-bred CEO has ensured the business has stayed true to its roots, becoming involved in local events, and supporting local sports and teams even as the company evolved and grew.
Tonia adds: “We’ve become a pillar of the Alfreton and Derbyshire community, sponsoring teams like Derby County Football Club and Derbyshire Cricket Club. In that time the communications industry has changed and become a vital part of everyday life all over the world – we’ve gone from thirty minutes of talk and texts per month and playing Snake on our phones to unlimited calls, texts and data, with cameras and access to the internet in the palm of our hands.”
“We couldn’t have imagined at the beginning what we would go on to achieve,” Paul continues. “Surviving a month was the aim, and we’ve managed three hundred so far and gone on to be one of the biggest mobile phone retailers in the UK. Congratulations to all our staff who have made that happen. Here’s to the next 25 years!”
The company celebrated its achievements over the last 25 years with an anniversary party and formal three-course dinner for all staff at Derbyshire County Cricket Club, where the business announced its new community partnership.
Press Contact
Jamie Dalton
A1 Comms
[email protected]