Rumours of the closure of a long-standing Stroud business have been debunked by the owner.
Independent stationers and office supplies company James & Owen have been serving shoppers in Stroud since 1926 and owner Peter Withey emphatically told Stroud Times: “One of our business rivals said we were closing, but we’re not going anywhere.”
Steeped in family history, James & Owen moved to their current premises on London Road in 1958, where Peter’s father Michael took over the business.
“My father actually joined the business when he was demobbed after the war,” explained Peter, who joined the company in 1982.
“My grandfather, Edgar Felix Withey bought the business from the estate of Henry Owen in 1926 and began trading at the old post office in Russell Street, which is now the Lord John.”
Peter has now worked in the office supplies industry for 41 years and insists the company is going from strength-to-strength: “We’ve added a lot of art materials and boast a very extensive print department as well, which has been going well for many a year now and we try to be as useful as we can.”
