Industry Electronics Headquarters Hereford | Products Consumer Electronics Founded 2003 | |
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Type Private limited company by shares Motto "Offering the best in home audio since 2003." | ||
Hifigear is a hi-fi and home cinema retailer formed in 2003 in Gloucester, UK. The business currently operates from King Street, Hereford with a physical premises that contains a number of demonstration rooms, as well as a showroom.
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History
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.
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.
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.
On March 2, 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.
Recent activity
In March 2015, the company moved headquarters from Rotherwas, Hereford to the more central location of King Street, Hereford. A running series of posts added to the company's official blog followed the various stages the move.
Product Range
Hifi Gear product range encompasses hifi audio separates, home cinema separates, loudspeakers, cables, portable music player accessories, and matching hifi and AV furniture. Notable brands that HifiGear specialise in include;