One of the bastions of retail businesses in Stalybridge closed its doors on January 7^th after over 90 years associated with the town. E. Taylor & Son has been an established part of Stalybridge retail since the 1930’s and was in its corner location of Melbourne Street and Castle Street since 1973.  Surprisingly it is still a family business after all these years selling electrical items, lighting and accessories. We caught up with Peter Taylor at the start of his final day in the shop and he reflected on his time at the shop.

“Well, we have been here since 1973 and before that our shop was on Market Street but my granddad actually opened the first retail outlet on Trinity Street in 1930.  The business was founded in 1920 in Stalybridge in the outbuildings of the Hippodrome theatre and ten years later opened that retail outlet.  It was my dad who moved the shop to Market Street in the 1950’s and then we moved here in 1973, we’ve always been a Stalybridge company. “

You have sold quite a varied mix of items here at the shop from bulbs and accessories to appliances and lighting?

“The Led lights have now taken over and been the mainstay of the business for some time, but we noticed people shopping online more for electrical accessories in recent years.  Some people still like to see the lights before they buy them but with more shopping online it is becoming more difficult. People will still buy single bulbs; they don’t want to be buying in bulk online and if they buy a light fitting, they still need bulbs.”

You’ve had some popular brands here at the shop over the years like Moulinex?

“Yes, we actually won a national window competition when my dad was still alive with a display that featured Twiggy saying: ‘Have you Twigged to Moulinex yet?’. It was a £1000 prize, and we were also a Moulinex repair centre too. Other brands dealt with for sales and repair have included Kenwood, Swan and Russell Hobbs. Nowadays nobody bothers with repairs as much because people would just replace them with new.”

Side by side with retail shop you do electrical contract work.

“Yes, the contract work is always our number one priority and we do work all over the place.  We do work for Mercedes, Jaguar and have just completed a refurbishment in Wilmslow for Ferrari.  We’ve done other established names like Audi, VW and Toyota travelling as far afield as Leicester, Nottingham, Telford and Shrewsbury. So, the commercial work will still continue based next door to the shop and on the same number.”

If customers need electrical work, you are still able to help?

“Yes, if people still need a light fitting, sockets replaced or bulbs they can always get in contact with us, and we’ll look after those who have supported us over the years. The loyalty of our customers has been fantastic, we are in the third generation with some families. We had a lady in today who’s dad had passed who had dealt with my dad, so we go back a long way with many of our customers.  I’d like to thank all those who have supported the shop over years from those longstanding customers to those who discovered us in the last few years.”

Thank you, Peter, for chatting to About Tameside and good luck with the future. If you still need to contact E. Taylor & Son for electrical work, you can call 0161 338 2549.