About Us
As those of you who are familiar with us will know, B.B.Adams is a family-run company and always has been, ever since its beginnings in the 1950s. Some things have remained the same ever since the early days – our focus on giving you great customer service for example – but some things have changed over the years. So, here’s a little more info on how we started and how far we’ve come.
Our history – from the 50s to today!
B.B.Adams was founded in 1958 by Barry Adams (the father of our current Managing Director, Dean Adams), who opened our first ever store in Regents Road, Great Yarmouth. In those days we sold watches and jewellery; there wasn’t a TV or radio in sight!
Within a couple of years, Barry had set up four more stores in Great Yarmouth; one of which focussed on selling electrical products. Barry had decided to diversify into selling transistor radios, which were all the rage at the time – he was always able to identify a trend in the market!
Expanding into Norwich
In the late 1960s, an opportunity to expand into Norwich arrived and Barry grabbed it with both hands, opening the first of our shops on Guildhall Hill. Over the next few years, we opened four more stores on the same street.
At that time, we sold everything you could possibly need for your home and lifestyle...
Number 3 Guildhall Hill sold discounted toiletries, household products & toys
Number 4 Guildhall Hill sold discounted carpets
Number 6 Guildhall Hill sold discounted consumer electronics
Number 7 Guildhall Hill sold discounted watches and jewellery
During the 1970s, we expanded even further and new branches were opened in Bowthorpe, Cromer, Dereham, Thetford, Mildenhall and Wymondham. B.B.Adams was becoming one of the most recognised companies in East Anglia.
The King Street branch
By the early 1980s, we‘d outgrown our stores in the city centre so we purchased the freehold of what was later to become our flagship store - in King Street, Norwich. The site had been left in total disrepair and was considered to be in a secondary retail location.
Many in the business community thought Barry was mad, but he’d always had the foresight to be one step ahead of the competition and knew he could turn the site to his advantage. Barry knew his customers wanted convenient free parking and a wider choice of consumer electronics, and he wanted to give it to them! Just as it is now, our aim was to bring cutting-edge technology to the people of Norfolk and Suffolk.
The King Street branch became one of the largest and best electrical megastores in East Anglia at the time. We had an amazing local customer base that was really loyal; three generations of families purchased from us, which we never took for granted.
Along with the strong relationships we built with customers, we also built a remarkable trading relationship with our core manufacturers, who have supported us to this day. The importance we place on the customers and suppliers we deal with was - and is - imperative for the wonderful success that we achieved as B.B.Adams.
In 1985, Barry decided to retire. So, in December 1985, Dean Adams (Barry’s son), Richard Jackson and Dean’s uncle, Gerald Buffini bought B.B.Adams; the deal was worth more than £1,000,000. A year later, the company was sold to Bennet & Fountain PLC.
Dean and Ben Adams have recently brought the B.B.Adams brand back and are planning all sorts of exciting things for the future. Most importantly, we continue to run our company with the same core values that Barry Adams had all those years ago – providing fantastic customer service and top quality products at competitive prices.
In 2012 the B.B.Adams Group celebrated its 1st year of trading after it's relaunch in 2011 by being inducted into the EDP Business Future 50 one of East Anglia’s most prestigious business awards. The induction into the Future 50 shows the companies success and drive in becoming a powerful source in the electronics industry with the company’s motto “Driven By Passion And Pride” remains as it once did when B.B.Adams was orginally founded by Barry Adams over 50 years ago.
B.B.Adams - the company with a proud family heritage: providing the very best in customer service, choice and price – Some things never change.
