The Brown family ‘lived and breathed’ their TV business when they first opened up shop in 1996, and still do to this day.
But the company has changed dramatically over the last 26 years.
Their high street electricals store proudly remains in Leigh, however they have diversified to supply bookies, pubs, and hotels across the country - and last year turned over a record £18.6 million.
Despite dad Jim Brown passing away in 2013, the TVD Group is still very much a family affair, run by brothers Dan Brown and Matthew Brown.
Jim, who died at 68 after battling bowel cancer that had spread to his brain, had a long and prosperous career in the technology industry.
Starting out as a TV engineer, he worked his way up to managing director for a national company.
Taking his two sons under his wing, they learnt all there was to know about the job, and joined their dad at the national firm before going it alone.
“The business is our dad’s legacy,” operations director Dan, 50, said.
“It was his passion. He’d been in it [the industry] all his life and saw every aspect. Been in his blood since he were a lad.
“He always wanted to open his own shop."
Dan remembers their humble beginnings in business well as he was 26-years-old when their shop opened, while his younger brother was 21.
It was just the four of them, Dan, Matthew, Jim, and mum Patricia, 74, who recently retired.
Now they have 54 staff.
“We more or less did everything, sold during the day, and when we had stock delivered, we unloaded the wagons, stacked and stored it, then in the evenings, we delivered the products as well,” said Dan, who is Bolton born and bred.
“We lived and breathed the shop. We still do.”
While the electronics store is ‘buoyant’, Dan says, it used to be thriving, which led to them opening a second on Bolton’s high street in 1999.
In the same year, one of their manufacturers, Toshiba, encouraged them to start mail orders.
They put an advert in a specialist magazine and when they came to work the next day, their phone was off the hook.
“The phone started ringing, it rang again, and then it didn’t stop with people wanting to order televisions across the country,” Dan said.
A turning point came in in 2002 when the son-in-law of Fred Done - the Salford billionaire owner of Betfred bookies - walked by.
He was drawn in by the huge 33-inch TV on display in the shop window.
“He said ‘how can you do that TV for so cheap?’” continued Dan.
“I said 'well we aren’t greedy, our overheads are low’ - but it wasn’t cheap, it was competitively priced.
“He asked ‘how much can you do for 10 of them?’
“We thought ‘what?’
“And that’s how we started off supplying for the betting industry.
“We’re now in with Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, William Hill. We’re in with the big guys and some of the independents as well.”
Within the TVD Group empire, they have the TV & Video Direct store in Wigan, which was rebranded as Electrical Experience.
They also run Technology Solutions - which supplies care homes, hotels, leisure clubs, and by 2007, to pubs - including chains Greene King, Punch Taverns, Enterprise Inns, and Stonegate Group.
There is also a B2B division - where they sell to independent and national companies across the UK, which launched in 2012, and MySign, where they supply digital signage, with one opposite Bolton Wanderers' stadium.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary in 2016, they developed their own brand of TVs - Mitchell & Brown - built by Europe’s largest TV manufacturer.
It's a nod to their father, named after Jim's mother’s maiden name and his surname combined.
The model numbers, such as JB321811, also include Jim’s initials (JB) and his date of birth (18/11).
The Bolton store shut in 2008 but their warehouse is still based in the town.
Dan argues there is still a place for the high street.
“It’s still necessary,” the father-of-four said.
“Products have changed from when we first started, there’s smart stuff, automated stuff, it needs to be explained to the customer and demonstrated.
“A lot of loyal customers come back to us and we’re seeing different generations now, their sons and daughters.
“There’s still room for both high street and online.
“We’ve progressed immensely, and from mum and dad teaching us, we’ve diversified.
“If we were just a high street store still, it is possible we might not be here.
“But we’re always looking forward, and looking to grow sustainably.”
When the pandemic hit though, like many business owners, Dan was worried.
The commercial division ‘fell off a cliff’, as he puts it, but their internet sales rocketed.
“We had our warehouse full of stock, but within four weeks, it was sold out,” he said.
“It was phenomenal.
“We were lucky we could furlough staff, so there was just me and my brother, and a few staff processing orders.
“It was like going back to basics again, learning how to use the online sales system, then delivering.”
On whether his kids will take over the business one day, he says it’s a possibility - if they have the same passion, dedication, and hard work ethic as him.
It’s these qualities he credits the success of the business to, alongside his team of staff, some of which have been with him for more than 15 years.
And if Dan is ever unsure of his next move, he thinks about what his entrepreneurial dad would do.
“I remember once I ordered a little bit too much stock, and I was sat at home, relatively quiet," he said.
“My wife asked what was wrong with me, I said ‘I’m just thinking.’ I went for a walk, and thought ‘what would my dad do here?’
“We think about everything that he taught us.”
Laughing, he added: “If he was watching us now I know exactly what he would say.
“‘Boys, you’re doing very well, but there’s another opportunity over there, another one there.
“I can remember my brother did a big deal with a commercial company, and my dad said ‘well done that’s brilliant, but have you heard McDonald’s are now putting menu boards in their restaurants?’
“He was always looking forward. He would be absolutely delighted. But he’d still say 'boys you can do better.'”
For more information, head to https://www.mitchellandbrown.co.uk/
