|
In 1867, James Robinson opened a small saddlery next to the North Western Railway Station in Wallgate, Wigan. While horses still provided much of the power of the industrial North West, leisure riding was a leisure activity only for the most privileged and affluent people in those days. Every town had its own saddler and Robinsons Saddlery had become established as a reputable provider to the local industry. By the 1960's, Jim Robinson (right), the grandson of the man who had founded the company had been in saddlery all his working life and was looking to retire. With no fourth generation to pass the company to, Robinsons Saddlery was sold to a local riding instructor in 1970 |
 |
 |
In the 1970's, riding experienced a boom. Times had changed and many leather products were seen as old and dull and advances such as coloured synthetic items became embraced by Robinsons and our customers. Our pioneering of brighter, more reasonably priced, fashionable items enabled us to grow quickly. As our reputation grew, so the Robinsons Saddlery show stand could be seen at showgrounds all over the country from the smallest club show to the biggest at Badminton and Wembley. |
|
By the early 1980's, Robinsons had outgrown our old shop in Wigan. It was clear that the store did not match the potential of Robinsons. In 1982, an expansion of the company enabled Robinsons to move to its current store site, "Two furlongs from Haydock Racecourse". The vast new showroom space allowed new products to be included, such as feeds, gifts and stable equipment. As the product range expanded and as saddlery became a smaller proportion of the products on offer, Robinsons Saddlery became Robinsons Country Leisure. |
|
With a much larger store and a new philosophy of selling, the early years at the new store still included visits to showgrounds as far afield as Edinburgh, Anglesey and Peterborough, helping to spread our reputation far and wide. Increasingly, a number of customers wanted to deal with us more often than once or twice a year. At first, Mail Order started life as a series of one-off orders to a small group of satisfied customers. By 1985, these orders had escalated and Robinsons entered the world of home shopping with a series of small two colour leaflets, designed specifically for visitors to take home with them and use long after the show had finished. By 1987, our first full-size catalogue had been launched.
|
 |
 |
By the early 90's, the popularity of catalogue shopping had required us to move our Mail Order departments to a new site in Haydock and totally computerise our operation. As our buying power increased, we became able to provide our own products made to our own specifications. In 1995 at the inaugural Your Horse Awards, Robinsons won the category for 'Best Mail Order Company', an accolade which has been repeated every year since. By the late 90's, we had outgrown our Haydock site. It was decided that it was once again time to seek a new home for our Mail Order operation. |
|
In December 1998, we found the right property a few miles away in Rainford. Six months later, in June 1999, the company moved into its new headquarters. Another new computer system followed shortly after, to enable us to improve our customer service even further and in Spring 2001, our Mail Order team took their millionth order – a first in the UK equestrian industry! |
 |
 |
2002 was to be another positive year in the development of Robinsons. A new logo was in use and both Mail Order and Retail sales were increasing healthily. Then, on September 19th, disaster struck. That evening, a fire utterly destroyed our store - which was still open at the time. Thankfully, all the staff and customers were safely evacuated but nothing could be done to save the building or its contents. Now, more than ever before, Robinsons had to rely on our Mail Order reputation. |
|
As a result of the fire, the construction and eventual reopening of our new Megastore took up much of our time in 2003. When the big day finally arrived, over 2,500 people came along to visit, making it one of our busiest ever days! The new Megastore at the same site is much larger, better designed and retains all the most popular aspects of the old store, particularly the Nosebag Café and the Haydock Room. We were keen to ensure that everything we had learned about retailing in the last 30 years was incorporated into the design of the new Superstore |
 |
|
Just imagine what James Robinson, that Victorian saddler from Lancashire would say if he knew that the company who bears his name is known and trusted by thousands of riders all over the world |
