Shifnal shop celebrates 70-year milestone

A Shropshire shop is celebrating an amazing 70 years in business. Richards, based in the centre of Shifnal, specialises in selling traditional men’s and women’s clothing and has built up a customer base from around the country.

Stuart Richards, the third generation of his family to manage the shop, said that they had seen fashions and trends change considerably during the seven decades.

His grandfather and grandmother, Harold and Ethel Richards, started the business in 1954 in Market Place, before having a new premises built in Bradford Street in 1965.

“Clothes were a lot more formal then – they sold a lot of suits and offered a tailoring service but fashions are much more casual now,” said Stuart, who is 54 and has been at Richards since he was 18, alongside his father Bernard and mother Joyce, who still work there part time.

“We still have some customers who have been coming here since we opened but we have also got people who come from all over the country.

“They are usually visiting the area and staying in the town and like to come in and shop with us each time they are here.”

And Stuart explained that the key to the business’s success was the personal service they offered.

“We are friendly, helpful and courteous – that is something not on offer at all shops,” he said.