The retail sector of Swansea city centre may be somewhat drab these days, but if there's one thing the city isn't short on, it's a phone shop.
Whether you're after a nice sleek minimalist case and screen protector for your new iPhone, or perhaps a pink rhinestone case-cum-wallet for your shiny Samsung galaxy, you can bet there's a shop in Swansea that's caters for it.
Over the past few years, the city centre has lost many retail giants including Topshop, Debenhams, BHS, Miss Selfridge, What! and shoe retailer Office, to name a few, with Next set to shut in March. One in seven retail units in the UK are now empty, but phone shops seem to be unscathed by the high street scourge, with two new shops opening 2021.
We ventured into the city centre to ask shop owners what exactly it is that keeps them afloat, even through a pandemic.
Read more: Two more shops set to quit Swansea city centre
Ariff Hemani and his family have owned phone shop iRepair, formerly known as Best Sellers, for nearly 30 years.
Ariff said: "We converted from fashion to mobile phones around 29 years ago, and we were the only phone shop of the type in Swansea, if not Wales, at the time. I remember selling those big Nokia phones with the aerials on them, and we'd have long queues of 20 people in line waiting - it was unbelievable."
"Those days are gone, but we're doing fine here because we have built up a loyal customer base over the years, so we have the same people coming back to us. We've made a name for ourselves, particularly when it comes to phone repairs.
"Everybody's got a phone, even if you're homeless."
Daz Evans, 24, works nearby in the Mobile Repair Centre, which is opposite Wilko on Singleton Street. He also said that businesses has been very steady in recent days.
He said: "The reason these shops are so popular is because everybody needs a phone. Every home has a tablet, phone or laptop. We can't live without them anymore.
"I have noticed that other phone shops are quiet, but it's often because people open up phone shops without really knowing much about the trade or what they're doing. They open a phone shop because they can, because they know they'll make money from it. Whether they'll last, though, is another thing.
"To survive on the high street, you have to jump in the water before you know how to swim."
Daz is originally from Worcester, but he moved to Wales because he felt it offered more opportunity in the phone repair and tech industry than England.
He pointed out that local shops also offer much better prices when it comes to repair than tech giants like Apple.
"Local phone repair shops can put Apple and other companies to shame. We can always offer a much cheaper rate for a service that's just as good. We repair everything, from iPads to games consoles and phones.
"We stay afloat every single week for returning customers who always need something, and we've built up a good reputation through word of mouth so we do have a great customer base who recommend us to other people based on their experience."
One of the newest shops to land in the city is Phone Store, opposite Costa Coffee on Oxford Street, which opened four months ago in the former Office unit.
Shop worker Ali Morenoh, 28, from Manchester, said the business has been doing "fine" because they have a wider choice of cases, accessories and gadgets than other phone shops in the city.
He said: "It can be really quiet sometimes, but then other times it picks up again. December was busy, but it's been quieter since Christmas - which is the same for most shops. Businesses are struggling everywhere.
"We have quite a big unit, so we have a lot more variety than some of the other shops in the city."
One shop that's felt the weight of new shops arriving is Mobile Buddy, which has been on Oxford Street, opposite Waterstones book shop, for around seven years.
Simon Mohammad, 27, said that the business is far more quiet than it used to be because competition is so high.
He said: "We opened seven years ago. Back then, business was much better because it was just us and Best Sellers across the road. Now there are too many phone shops in the city centre, so we are definitely struggling more now than we would have a few years ago.
"One small city centre doesn't need this many phone shops, especially when footfall is already so low because of the pandemic."
Reflecting on business life in the city, iRepair owner Ariff Hemani said that he's hopeful for the future of the shop on the high street.
He said: "The city centre is definitely struggling, but there's a lot of regeneration work being done, including the new arena, as well as new flats and student accommodation in the area, which helps footfall. It's looking good.
"People keep saying there are too many phone shops or vape shops, but it's either that, or the units will be empty."
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