The BBC Website has this story about Rushworths Music Store in Liverpool. The store existed for 174 years until the store closed in 2002.
Of course, the fact that Rushworths was where the Beatles bought their guitars overrides the fact that this store was a symbol of Liverpool's prosperity during the Victorian Era.
The other interesting aspect was the firm's social conscience. Jonathan Rushworth said: "My grandfather believed you couldn't just sell musical instruments, you had to give back to society and be part of the musical life of the city."
Thus the firm set up and sponsored a music festival, which ran for 50 years, and the William Rushworth Memorial Trust still makes grants for the study of music.
But, it's the association with the Beatles that gives Rushworths its fame.
This is just the kind of store that I enjoy: connected to the community, run by a local, exercises its "personhood" (gasp!) by being a good citizen, etc. It's a sad fact of the modern world that, as was reported in the news article, Rushworths couldn't compete with the chains.
ReplyDeleteI've had good experiences with owner-operated stores. If there's a way to bring them back, I'd love to hear it.
Yeah, too bad the economics you advocate led ot its demise.
ReplyDeleteLaci the Dog,
ReplyDeleteWhich economics would that be? The small business, operating locally and interacting with its neighbors, is much more like what Adam Smith originally wrote than modern multinational corporations. I've said before that the bigger something is, the more it needs to be regulated.