Shrewsbury stalwart celebrates 75 years on the high street
Menswear store was once part of renowned family-owned brand whose roots back to Manchester and the turn of the last century
A stalwart of a Shropshire high street is celebrating 75 years in the town this month - and looking to the future with a planned expansion.
Halon Menswear opened in Shrewsbury on July 14, 1951 - part of a renowned UK chain of menswear shops founded by the Halon family more than a century ago.
But the store at 46-47 High Street, which sells formalwear such as suits and shirts, is now the only one left in the country, with no ties to the Halon family after the flounder's grandson Willian Halon died shortly after contracting covid in 2021.
Now entirely owned by Andrew Prow, the business is exploring the possibility of renovation work to its historic, listed home which could see a ground-floor storage room turned into additional retail space, expanding its sales area by up to 50 per cent.
Andrew, 62, said: "We are pushed for space but what we can do is move stock upstairs and that will give us a bit more space on the ground floor to enlarge the sales area.
"We have not yet submitted a planning application and have just finished refurbishing the flat upstairs to rent out which was quite expensive. If we can enlarge the sales area, it will hopefully improve things and make life a bit easier and give us an extra 50 per cent of sales space.
"The plan was to wait a few years and save up but, with the way sales are at the moment, we could do with having the bigger sales area sooner rather than later. Even if we didn't increase trade, it would make life easier to operate as we could spread out a bit more and the value would still be in the building."
The retailer was founded by Wolf Halon in 1905 in Manchester with several branches opening over the years.
It entered the Shrewsbury market in 1951 after acquiring a local business called G N Davies which was then based at 46-47 High Street.
At the company's height in the 1970s, Halon had 26 branches but the majority were sold by Wolf Halon's three sons to fund their retirement and, by 1985, only the Manchester and Shrewsbury stores remained to carry on the Halon name.
Andrew worked in the Manchester shop from 1986 but relocated to Shrewsbury in 2004 when it closed down after its landlord increased the rent.
In 2006, soon after the business celebrated its centenary, the founder's grandson William Halon allowed Andrew to buy 49 per cent of the firm's last remaining store.
He then acquired the remainder of the shares from the Halon family following William's death five years ago.
Asked about the changing retail landscape, Andrew said: "We have noticed a move away from retail that seems to be encouraged.
"More and more out-of-town places are being built and reps tell us that town centres seem to be spoilt by building them. Big names - such as Next in Shrewsbury - have gone out to the big retail parks where the overheads are much lower.
"If you make it difficult for people to access town centres then people desert them. We have noticed Saturday trade has changed, especially in the mornings, from the destination shoppers who would come in quickly, spend a lot and leave.
"They have been replaced by more people who just wander in with no intention of ever buying but instead have come to the town for a walk around.
"That said, we are still very busy and profitable. Whatever we're doing, it's still working for us. We've perfected it after 75 years in this location."
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