Maxine Horne: Changing the Way Australian’s Purchase Mobile Phones

Before Vita Group CEO Maxine Horne came into the picture, Australians relied on their mobile carriers to get access to the latest in mobile phones. This practice can be quite expensive and suffocating for consumers who would have to sign a contract with the carrier in order to get the best deal. Coming from the UK, Horne decided that she would change that by selling mobile phones in shopping malls. In 1995, she founded Fone Zone, a company which later became one of the brands under the umbrella of the Vita Group, another company she founded when she branched out into computing and electronics as well.

Horne took the risk when she penetrated the mobile communications market with Fone Zone. They went through rough times during the global financial crisis, but the company was able to recover and is now stronger than ever before. Under Horne’s supervision, Fone Zone is now the official distributor for Telstra in Australia and is now operating 85 out of 220 Telstra retail stores.