After serving on the western front throughout the Great War, Frank Hughes trained as an electrical engineer before founding the business in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 1921. Originally rewinding industrial electrical motors for Lowestoft's fishing fleet, Frank bought his first shop in 1928, where he built and sold radios while the family lived over the shop. The business was incorporated in 1946, but the following year Frank passed away, leaving his children Peter, Phyllis and Jim to take over the management of the company. To this day, we remain a true family business with the third generation, under Robert and Jeremy Hughes, now at the helm. We were quick to embrace and introduce new technologies as they developed, such as televisions and labour-saving kitchen appliances. By renting these products, they became affordable for the typical household in the post-war austerity years. This early equipment was notoriously unreliable and the engineering background of the company meant that we were well placed to develop a large service infrastructure to repair them. Geographic expansion soon followed and by the end of the 20th century we had over 30 shops and four service centres located throughout East Anglia.
