Rumbelows
| Company type | Retail company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electrical and electronic goods retail |
| Predecessor | Fred Dawes, NEMS, Strothers (consolidated under Rumbelows) |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Founder | Sydney Rumbelow |
| Fate | Defunct; stores closed in 1995 |
| Headquarters | Nantwich , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Products | Electrical and electronic goods, home computers, musical instruments (selected stores) |
Number of employees | 285 stores (1995) |
| Parent | Thorn Electrical Industries (acquired early 1960s), later Radio Rentals (post-1989) |
Rumbelows operated as a British retailer specializing in electrical and electronic goods, competing directly with Currys, Dixons, and Comet.
History
The company was established in 1949 by Sydney Rumbelow in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and experienced growth throughout the 1950s. In the early 1960s, Thorn Electrical Industries acquired the business. By 1969, Thorn consolidated several regional brands under the Rumbelows banner, including Fred Dawes, NEMS, and Strothers. The chain further expanded in 1975 through the purchase of J & F Stone from Great Universal Stores, with management centralized in Nantwich, Cheshire.
Certain former Strothers and NEMS locations specialized in products such as records, musical instruments, and hi-fi systems. A notable example includes the Whitechapel store in Liverpool, which was previously the NEMS music shop managed by Brian Epstein, renowned as the Beatles' manager during the 1960s.
Demise
Following Thorn Electrical Industries' merger with Radio Rentals in 1989, ownership of Rumbelows transferred to Radio Rentals. Thorn EMI shifted Rumbelows’ rental accounts to Radio Rentals, effectively divesting its primary rental operations. Subsequently, Rumbelows redirected its business model towards traditional retailing and incorporated home computers into its inventory.
By 1992, Thorn had rebranded multiple Rumbelows outlets as DER, Multibroadcast, or Radio Rentals stores. Additionally, some branches adopted the Fona brand—a Danish electrical retail franchise—promoted through advertisements featuring Brigitte Nielsen.
Throughout the 1990s, Rumbelows consistently incurred losses amounting to £12 million annually without achieving profitability. Consequently, by 1995 Thorn shuttered all remaining 285 Rumbelows stores alongside 36 Fona outlets. Certain premises were sold to German PC retailer Escom, which itself ceased operations in 1998. Separately, Martin Dawes maintained the family's involvement in electronics retail via his mobile phone enterprise, which was sold to Cellnet for £130 million in 1999.
Football sponsorship
Between 1990 and 1992, Rumbelows served as the principal sponsor of the English Football League Cup, a professional football tournament.