The oldest of the department stores along Newport’s shopping streets marked its 140th year of existence recently, with a whole day devoted to celebrating the anniversary.
Wildings, which can be found at Commercial Street in the town, provided a number of discount offers for customers and played host to the Panama Jazz Band, as well as offering a tombola for its celebrations.
It is by far the longest-running store in Newport and Peter James, its managing director, told the South Wales Argus that the celebrations proceeded with a swing:
“It’s gone tremendously well. We’ve had a fantastic response from Wildings’ customers and we’re very grateful for their loyalty and support which have kept us going for 140 years.”
The store, which was founded by Alfred Wilding, enjoyed a £140k revamp earlier in the year, and it remains one of the most successful shops in the city centre.
Like the other local department stores, Wildings can rely on services like glossy colour catalogue printing in Newport, to showcase what it has to offer to residents of the town, which has helped to keep it ticking over.
The celebrations were attended by Newport’s Matthew Evans, a local councillor and mayor of the city. Evans emphasised the importance of regional stores like this to the economy of the town.
Regular customers also visited the store to mark the occasion, with 73-year-old Elizabeth Buchanan stating that the shop had moved with the times without sacrificing quality.
