Tim’s Megastore to close after 30 years
ACOMPUTER shop which has constantly reinvented itself to keep up with technology is closing its doors after 31 years.
When Tim Swift ditched a job driving buses to open Tim’s Megastore on Sunderland Street in 1985 he sold toys, household goods and telephones, eventually moving on to games consoles and PCs.
But now, with the popularity of smart phones and tablets, he has decided it is finally time to hang up his hat.
Tim said: “When we started there was no com- puter industry, we created it.
“We were pioneers. We’ve seen so many changes in computers and there are not many shops like ours in the country which have survived.
“Computers have been ever evolving and we’ve had to keep up with it but now I’ve realised that it’s time to reinvent again and move into smart phones and tablets and I’m at an age where I’m not prepared to do that.
“We thank all the loyal customers we’ve had over the years. A lot have grown up with us from kids coming in for games.”
Tim, who moved to Macclesfield from Aldershot aged 19 with a bike and £70 in his pocket, opened his business in 1985.
Two years after opening Tim employed Terry Plant, who has remained at the business ever since.
Together they started selling early games consoles, soon also stocking accessories like joysticks and in 1993 they moved into PCs and software.
In 2000 Tim bought the shop across the road, and, at a time when software sales declined and with the advent of the internet, concentrated on building and repairing PCs.
Tim has some experience in electronics but he and Terry learned as they went along.
After PCs came laptops so there was more to learn for the tech-savvy pair.
But Tim says his daugh- ters Amanda, 28, Emma 24 and Tracy 20, are not keen to take on the business and he doesn’t want to sell it on to anyone else.
He said: “I would hate to sell it on and for someone to run it into the ground. We’ve had a good reputation and it’s best to end on a high and say goodbye to Tim’s Megastore.
“We would love to see loyal customers before we shut, but aren’t having a leaving party. We’ll just close up and head to the George and Dragon pub.
“It will be a sad day but all good things come to an end.”
Tim’s Megastore will close this Friday, April 29.