HifiGear has been trading for over a decade, and has seen two names and four buildings in that time. This article explains a bit about where the company came from, where it is now, and everything in between.
HifiGear, now located in King Street, Hereford.HifiGear began in 2003 under the name of 'Gloucester Hifi', initially by Phil Glazzard who continues to own and direct the business today. The original store consisted of a small 70sqm lock-up shop in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, with only a limited range of brands available for purchase. A year later, an e-commerce arm was added to the business titled 'HifiGear'. The online store proved to be a success.
2005. HifiGear, large showroom in Gloucester. (No longer operating here)By 2005, Gloucester Hifi relocated its shop premises to a larger unit in Three Cocks Lane, Gloucester. This additional space allowed for the introduction of more prominent brands to the company's catalogue.
As the e-commerce arm of business continued to grow, the physical store-front changed name from Gloucester Hifi to HifiGear and added two additional sales staff members. In 2009 the business moved again, to a far more prominent location with a larger premises of 300sqm. This building was located at Westgate Retail Park, Gloucester and featured two spacious demonstration rooms, car parking facilities and appropriate warehousing.
2012. HifiGear's old premises in Rotherwas (no longer operating here).In April 2012, HifiGear relocated once more to Rotherwas, in the rural city of Hereford. This move allowed the company to focus more time and resources in improving the eCommerce aspect even further, and during this time a new and more enhanced website was implemented, as well as a number of additional features, promotions and more descriptive product listings. The Rotherwas showroom was located a short drive from the Hereford city centre, which gave it a 'destination store' status. The move saw great improvements to both online business, and higher-value in-store custom.
2015. HifiGear, now in King Street, Hereford.On March 2nd 2015, HifiGear relocated again, this time to King Street, Hereford, which enabled the company to connect with and assist the people of Herefordshire in a more central location. The new premises is in direct view of Hereford's beautiful cathedral, and is easily recognisable by the neat orange and white 'HifiGear' sign, glowing over a brushed aluminium front, designed to reflect the clean aesthetic of the website. The King Street store showcases a number of models from highly regarded hifi brands, including Bowers & Wilkins, Naim Audio, KEF, Sonos, Ruark Audio, Loewe televisions, Pro-Ject Turntables, and much more, with demonstration capabilities in place for customers who wish to audition or compare products.
The showroom of the current store in King Street, Hereford