EDITOR’S COMMENT Will McGill
10
The best is yet to come
T
here seems to be something in the water this year, because everywhere I look somebody in our industry is celebrating an anniversary. Earlier this week, the ERT team headed to Milton
Keynes for the Sirius Buying Group Trade Show and Gala Dinner, which this year had a little more reason for celebration than usual as the Group marks its 25th anniversary.
Founded in 2001 by just four independent
retailers, Sirius has grown over the past quarter of a century to represent more than 175 members and over 200 retail outlets across the country. That is quite some journey. But Sirius is far from alone in reaching a significant milestone in 2026. HBH Woolacotts is celebrating 50 years since
opening its first store in Bude in 1976. Peter Tyson, meanwhile, can trace its beginnings back to 1966, when Peter opened his first TV repair shop in Carlisle - making this its 60th year in business. And remarkably, it isn’t the only one. Crampton
& Moore was also established in 1966, as was Joe Graham & Son, which started life as a small repair and rental shop in Luton. Then there is Hughes, which makes 50 or 60
years seem positively youthful. Founded by Frank Hughes in 1921, the family business has now been trading for 105 years.
There are plenty more examples across our industry, and I think it says something rather important about independent electrical retail. Think about how much has changed during those years. A retailer that started out repairing radios or televisions has lived through the arrival of colour TV, VHS, satellite television, CDs and DVDs, flat screens, the internet, smartphones, streaming, smart homes and now AI. On the appliance side, products, technology, efficiency standards and the way consumers shop have changed beyond recognition too.
And yet these businesses are still here. Heritage is something that independents should
be incredibly proud of. You don’t trade for 25, 50, 60 or more than 100 years by accident. It comes from building a reputation, adapting when you need to and, perhaps most importantly, earning the trust of generations of customers. But there is another side to celebrating a milestone. As much as an anniversary gives you an opportunity to look back at everything you have achieved, it should also make you think about what comes next.
That feels particularly relevant as we get closer to this year’s ERT Awards on 15 October. The Awards have always been about recognising the businesses, products and people that make
this industry what it is. And with so many fantastic anniversaries being celebrated this year, there is no better reminder of why recognising those achievements matters.
At the same time, we also want the ERT Awards to look forward.
That is why one of the categories I am particularly pleased to see introduced this year is Retailer Best Breakthrough Talent. It recognises the rising stars already making their mark within electrical retail, the people who could well be running, growing and reinventing some of these businesses in the decades ahead.
The businesses celebrating 50, 60 or 100- plus years today were once the newcomers. Somewhere along the way somebody took a chance, somebody had a new idea and another generation came through to take things forward. So while we should absolutely raise a glass to the incredible milestones being reached across our industry this year, we should also make sure we are creating the next ones. Enjoy the read.
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