retailer profile: AF Thomas Electricals
The Covid-19 bounce – long may it continue
AF Thomas Electricals was started by Albert Frederick Thomas in 1932. Simon King headed to Newport, South Wales to speak to Andrew Thomas, the company’s managing director, and Albert’s grandson
A
lbert Frederick Thomas was an electrician in the docks area of
Newport, and in his spare time he built radios out of components and sold them to his friends. He used to charge acid accumulators to
power the radios and he also used to rent out irons for a certain amount of money each week. Andrew used to work in the shop on the
weekends and holidays to earn pocket money to be able to do things. “My dad was always of the view that if I
wanted something, that I wasn’t just having it, so I’d go and work in the shop and earn it,” he says. “In 1992, my father was running the business and he bought a shop in Abergavenny for domestic spares; at the time I was working for Motor Factors in London and he coaxed me back from London to run that.”
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www.ierdaily.co.uk AF Thomas Electricals moved to its flagship
superstore in April 2015. The 10,000sq ft store is on Newport’s Mendalgief Retail Park, while the company retains the 900sq ft store in Cross Street in Abergavenny. Before long, our conversation turned to the
Covid-19 pandemic. “I remember quite clearly Boris Johnson announcing that the country was locking down,” Andrew says. “My assistant manager messaged me in the staff WhatsApp group and asked if Boris had just closed the shop. “After a sleepless night, there was a call with all staff the following morning and there was hours and hours of research about what was happening and what was going on with furlough – I didn’t even know what furlough was back in March 2020.” Andrew says that being an independent retailer in those worrying times was key, as the
business was able to adapt. “It was a stressful week or so of wondering what on earth was going on,” Andrew recalls. “We closed both shops and diverted all the phone calls to my office. “In the short term, I was basically working
on my own with all the lights off in the shop and the shutters were down and I was basically doing as much as I could to sell over the phone and on online, while getting two people, who volunteered to work, to deliver and install on one van. “We were quite profitable with what we
were doing – with three members of staff we made 60% of our turnover and the government cancelled all the rates payable.” Preparing to re-open after being shut because of the lockdown, Andrew started staff back.
“I planned to keep 50% of staff working for March/April 2022
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