Member Article

Rutherfords looking to future after £50K upgrade

One of the North East’s oldest department stores has unveiled a £50,000 revamp as it celebrates its 170th anniversary.

Rutherfords of Morpeth has transformed its ground floor with a new-look homeware, interiors, cook shop and gift section.

The family-owned department store began life as a tiny draper’s shop in 1846, and Managing Director Richard Rutherford is looking to the future as the business celebrates its landmark anniversary.

Mr Rutherford, who is the fifth generation of the Rutherford family to run the Bridge Street department store, has guided the business through challenging times for retail since taking over the reins 30 years ago.

He said: “We pride ourselves on being a vibrant, modern lifestyle store and, to maintain that reputation, we have to continually improve and that was behind our redevelopment plans.

“We have created a spacious, vibrant look to the store that makes it a fun and inspirational environment for our customers to come in and browse. We have received wonderful feedback from customers, praising the changes we have made and the exciting new lines we are stocking.

“We are in our 170th year and are planning for the future because we intend to be around for many years to come.”

As well as revamping key departments and introducing new brands, there are new industrial-style fixtures and fittings, and more prominent payment points.

They have also expanded their menswear and shoes departments, with the introduction of new brands. Rutherfords weathered the storm of one of the UK’s biggest retail recessions in 2008.

Traditional high street shops also saw their profits hit by the internet shopping boom.

However, thanks to a combination of resilience and reinvention, the business, which employs 70 full and part-time staff, emerged strongly from both challenges.

Mr Rutherford added: “It’s great that in the year we are celebrating our 170th anniversary, we are planning ahead and revamping the store for the future.

“There is now more competition than ever both on the high street and online, and demands from customers have changed dramatically in recent years since the recession, but we are rising to those twin challenges.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Holly Corbett .