Local couple celebrate five years in business in Athlone

Athlone couple Pearse and Joanne Hegarty are celebrating the five-year anniversary of their store ReTech-it on Sean Costello Street.

Business is second nature to the couple, who come from a long line of local entrepreneurs, including Joanne's father Martin Flynn, who has been running M&J Flynn Tarmacadam for almost 40 years, Pearse's father, Pearse, a popular plumber, and his grandfather Paddy Hegarty, a well-known shoemaker of by-gone years.

“It really does run in our blood,” Pearse said, sharing the imprint their family has left on the local business landscape.

Pearse and Joanne have added to the legacy with their family-run electronics business. The Athlone store sells a range of phones, tablets, laptops, and printers, as well as offering accessories and services for all electronics. They also specialise in phone, screen and laptop repairs.

“We're very lucky to say that we were pretty much a success from the first day, and it has only grown from there,” Pearse said, adding that online sales have also grown rapidly for ReTech-it.

“We've had a few ups and downs with the changing of the street layout, and the modern shopping habits, which are very different, but we've managed to keep growing, and we have a huge number of return customers.”

When asked what makes them stand out from the crowd, Pearse noted the importance of local, family-run, Irish-owned businesses.

“People are familiar with our family, and they want to support local business,” Pearse said.

“We're here five years now, and we've built up a considerable customer base. Customer care is a huge thing for us, and we always go the extra mile setting up devices so they're ready to go when the customer is leaving the shop, which you just don't get in other high-street retailers.”

Pearse's wife Joanne joined the business just over a year ago, and has credited both staff and customers for welcoming her with open arms.

“I came onboard as the operations manager to take a bit of stress off Pearse. I check the stock, entering stock into the system, and label barcodes – that kind of thing,” Joanne said.

“It's been a great experience, and there's a huge amount of understanding between us. Working together as husband and wife has been better than I expected, and it has been great to see how well he works with the customers.”

Customers are at the heart of what they do at ReTech-it Athlone, and both Pearse and Joanne would like to thank their customer base for their support over the last five years.

“We can't thank our customers enough,” Pearse said. “It's because of them that we continue to grow, and we now employ six staff in Athlone.”