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Plug pulled on family electrical firm
Closure ... final days at Williams Electrics, from left, John and Anne Andrew, Pearl Armstrong, Ray McIntyre.
THE lights are being switched off at an electrical goods retailer after 60 years of success.
And today bosses at Boldon Colliery-based family firm T&D Williams admitted sadly: “It is the end of an era.”
Owners John, 60, and Anne Andrews, 61, will shut up shop on February 28, blaming a combination of the recession and supermarket competition.
The couple also feel it’s time to put an end to their seven-day weeks and retire for a well-earned rest.
Mrs Andrews, whose parents, Doris and Tom Williams, founded the store, said: “I will be sorry to see it go, and it is a shame it is happening.
“I was brought in here when I was in my pram, and it has been part of my life for many years. I’m part of the furniture.”
She added: “The truth is there is not really a market for small businesses like this any more. It is a sign of the times.” The firm was set up in October 1952 in premises a few doors down from its location in Hedworth Lane.
A second store on the site, which sold furniture, opened in 1960.
In 1988, a third branch, selling electrical goods, began trading in Station Road, Hebburn.
Mrs Andrews, of Rectory Green, East Boldon, began working with her parents in 1969.
She puts their success down in part to the strong sense of community that existed in the pit village.
And she said: “It even helped us weather the miners’ strike in the early 1980s.
“A lot of them used to rent TVs from us, and we told them they didn’t have to pay until they were able to.
“That kept people loyal to us, and they did pay. Sadly, that type of personal service doesn’t exist these days.”
Mr Williams died in a car accident in Boldon in 1991, aged 79. Mrs Williams, who is now 96, worked part-time until she was 85.
The original shop, which sold items including cookers and washing machines, closed in 2007, followed by the Hebburn outlet in 2010.
Mr Andrews, a former printer, got involved in the business 18 months ago. The couple now plan to take time off and enjoy a holiday, before making firm future plans.
Mrs Andrews added: “The first thing my mum still asks is ‘what kind of day have you had’?
“We’ve had a customer come in crying when they heard we were closing.
“Some people have always bought from us – they know no other way.”
Customer Gary Temple, 53, said: “It’s an ideal shop – they are lovely. It’s very sad that it is closing.”
Also leaving the business are assistants Pearl Armstrong, 58, and Ray McIntyre, 51.
Twitter: @ShieldsGazette
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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Temperature: 8 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
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Hebburnman
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 11:16 AMAgree with Hebburnlee Sad to see the shop go and loose that personal attention we always received when we went in the Hebburn Shop. Good luck in whatever venture you decide to do in the Future.
Hebburnlee
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 04:20 PMSad to see it go - the shop in Hebburn was a little gem. Lovely people and a great help when we were first setting up home.
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