Bristol appliances store Nailsea Electrical to close after 40 years leaving owner 'heartbroken'

The owner of an independent Bristol retailer that has fallen into administration after 40 years says he is "heartbroken". Nailsea Electrical was established by Peter Gilks in the North Somerset town of the same name in 1982 and is now run by his son, Ben.

The company, which rebranded to NE Appliances in 2020, used to have a store on Gloucester Road in Bristol and later had a large purpose-built showroom in Hengrove.

Ben Gilks said although the business initially thrived post-Covid, it was hit by a lack of people visiting the shop and showroom, and stiff competition from online retailers offering cheaper prices.

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"We have been working tirelessly to save the business but we couldn’t sell enough to support the overhead at the large store,” he told Bristol Live. “We have been reducing overheads as much as possible but we couldn’t get them any lower. I am heartbroken.”

Mr Gilks said the firm had seen a "sharp decline" in business since the mini-budget last September caused the housing market to derail.

“People buy appliances when they have a new kitchen fitted or buy a new house, and that completely dropped off. We had to sell a lot to make it work and towards the end, some days we were making no sales at all.

"I am absolutely devastated by what has happened and can only deeply apologise to all our customers. This is not something that is being taken lightly. I feel like crying every day. I have poured everything into this business - personally and financially - and I am heartbroken.”

NE Appliances has appointed Bristol-based administrators who are now managing the website, Gloucester Road store and kitchen showroom.

Mr Gilks said he understands the frustrations of customers who have ordered from the business and are waiting for information.

“The administrators have taken over the management of everything, leaving my hands tied in terms of what I can do," he added. "They have told us they will contact customers directly within the next seven-to-14 days to work through each case. We can only apologise for the position we are in.”