Department store company celebrates 15th anniversary

Kevin Baldwin, founder and managing director, started his company 15 years ago after losing his job

A retail company started up by a former Co-op area manager after he lost his job is celebrating a milestone anniversary.

Baldwins Department Stores Ltd, which launched in Suffolk and now has a presence in Essex, has been serving customers for 15 years.

The firm's first shop opened in Stowmarket in 2010, before further sites popped up in Ipswich, Dovercourt, Mersea Island, Halstead and Brightlingsea.

Kevin Baldwin, founder and managing director, put the company's longevity against the backdrop of an uncertain retail landscape down to its commitment to customers.

"Like all retail businesses, we have had a lot of challenges, but we have survived, mainly because we go out of our way to serve customers," he said.

"It is about saying hello and having that one-to-one service and going out of your way for them, and that is what has made us what we are today.

"We've always focused on serving our local communities with quality products, fair prices, and that traditional personal service customers still very much value today."

The first Baldwins department store was opened in Stowmarket, Suffolk, in 2010

Baldwins Department Stores Ltd stocks everything from clothing, lingerie, handbags, and jewellery, to bedding, homewares, gifts, luggage, school clothes and more.

Mr Baldwin started the company after the East of England Co-op Society, for which he worked as an area manager, started to shut down its department stores.

He, like many other employees, was then transferred to Vergo Retail Ltd, which, within 10 months, went into administration, resulting in him losing his job.

After applying for numerous jobs and becoming disillusioned by some companies' approach to the interview process, he decided to go it alone.

With the help of some of his former Co-op colleagues and council business development teams, he opened his first store.

'Exciting and daunting'

"It was very daunting and demanding, and suddenly I was everything, and everything came through me, whatever the problem," said Mr Baldwin.

"It was exciting, too, but that was the biggest challenge: juggling a lot of different things as well as serving on the shop floor."

Baldwins launched in Suffolk but also has shops in Essex, including on Mersea Island

The company's 15th anniversary comes in the wake of big-name brands such as Debenhams leaving the High Street, and at a time when other independent shops, such as Suffolk and Norfolk's Coopers, have shut down.

As well as customer service and staff loyalty, Mr Baldwin said his business had been able to stand the test of time due to being able to adapt quickly to new trends, "offering customers a carefully selected range of quality products at competitive prices".

"I think we have held up particularly well across all of our stores, and we do have an online presence as well, and it is surprising how many people order from all over the country," he said.

"I can't believe it has been 15 years, but I still love this job – it is really great."