Richer Sounds

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Richer Sounds is a privately owned company founded by Julian Richer. It specialises in home entertainment products, specifically hi-fis, televisions and speakers. There are currently around 44 stores located in 38 towns around the United Kingdom. In Ireland, there are franchise stores owned and managed by John McDonald. The first store was opened in 1978 when Julian was just 19. The chain also has an e-commerce site offering products for sale, which are usually cheaper than those in-store. The web price is usually avaiable in-store, however, if a printout is shown and stock availability can be verified.

The company has been accused of selling "seconds" (second hand products/returned products) by other competitors, but this is untrue according to their web site [1]. Also explained on the site is the size of the stores (which are smaller than most competitors), with the company claiming that smaller stores mean cheaper prices.

Richer Sounds is also well known for giving away ice-lollies in the summer and keeping customers happy with free coffee and mince-pies in the run-up to Christmas.

Richer Sounds shops are characterised by friendly, knowledgeable staff and the company has in the past offered a variety of interesting selling points such as:

Loan interconnects (cables) for you to 'try before you buy'.
Buy-Back schemes where they will buy back any item purchased from them at an agreed percentage of the original receipt value.
The company offers extended warranties that are substantially cheaper than those from rivals such as Currys and Comet. In addition, the full cost of the warranty is refunded after five years if no claims have been made.

The Richer Sounds store at London Bridge is holder of a Guinness World Record for the highest annual sales per unit area: £195,426 per Sq metre.