A huge thank you to Mobile News for their great article highlighting our 40th year in business…

Next month, the company will celebrate its 40th birthday as one of the country’s largest independent mobile phone dealers.

Founders Tony Parker and Elwyn Jones began Uplands in 1979 selling in-car entertainment systems such as radios, cassette players and speakers – with the company’s name coming from its first location in Uplands, Swansea.

Hooper joined the company 26 years ago from Halfords. In his interview with Jones for a position as branch manager, the two sat on a couple of dusty boxes in a dark stock room – and it set “alarm bells ringing” for Hooper when the founder admitted the store might close within six months.

But this honesty and the potential that Hooper nevertheless saw in Uplands intrigued him, and he became the standout candidate for the job. He saw an opportunity to fulfil his ambitions rather than continue to be a cog in a larger corporate machine.

“Elwyn told me, ‘if you want success here, then it’ll be down to you and we will back you and help you. But the work ethic is down to you’. That inspired me, says Hooper.”

And things certainly turned out well. Not only did the company very much carry on going, but Hooper was promoted to area manager after two years of running the Exeter store. Running six stores nationwide in the new role, he eventually became managing director.