News a legendary Manchester clothing store, loved by generations, was to close is said to have reduced one customer to tears.
The first Stolen From Ivor shop opened on the trendy King Street West in the city centre in 1965. It was close to a boutique owned by footballing hero George Best, with who he had a gentleman's agreement that he would not sell suits if the United ace didn't sell jeans.
For generations it was a staple of the city’s fashion scene, with fashion conscious Mancunians happy to be spotted carrying their iconic yellow plastic bags. One of the stores in Manchester's Market Centre was also the first place to stock Levi's Jeans in the north of England in 1966.
Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.
Since then, the chain became legendary for its trendy clobber with famous fans including Take That. As the brand grew it had had 43 shops across the north west during its peak, including Stockport, Altrincham, Bolton and Bury - becoming a mecca for fashion hipsters across Greater Manchester and beyond.
However all but seven stores were forced to close in 2002 after the company went into administration. In 2014, it looked like the curtain was to come down on the last remaining store in Stockport, which opened in April 1974.
Back then, the M.E.N. spoke to boss and company founder Ivor Hazan who said retail giants such as Primark, which had opened a store in Stockport three years earlier, were 'killing' independent stores like his.
The Didsbury entrepreneur said he was bitterly disappointed at having to close his last store, five decades after he opened his first.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and, Breaking News group by clicking this link
"I’m gutted. It feels like a family death, there’s no other way to describe it," he said.
"But we’ve been struggling for three years now and I’ve been wrestling with the decision whilst putting in money to keep us afloat."
"Since we announced it we’ve been inundated with people saying how sad they are and telling us their memories of the shop. But we just haven’t had the custom. For instance Christmas has been really slow."
Join our Greater Manchester history, memories and people Facebook group here.
Following the story on the final store's imminent closure, people shared their memories of shopping and working at Stolen From Ivor.
Hopey, who worked in the chain’s city centre store in 1973/74, remembered how Ivor defied the government’s ‘three day week’ in the seventies buy buying an extra generator to keep the store running.
He said: "I worked at Ivor’s when the Tories figured that it was a good idea to effectively shut the country down for four days every week, Ivor had other plans though, he bought a generator to light the shop, which was great, had it not been 'stolen from Ivor' after two days.
"I can remember selling football jumpers and star jumpers at £1.99, Penny round collars, Jaytex shirts and ‘Loons’ for about £4 a pair. Light green at the top and navy blue at the bottom.
Barrie, from Sale, said: "It’s so sad to hear the Stolen from Ivor shop in Stockport is closing, When I was younger in the seventies, I used to travel from Marple just to go to Ivor's for my jeans. [I] used to get off the bus three stops past my house so people could see me walking through Marple centre with a bright yellow Stolen from Ivor bag."
And after making the decision to close the last remaining store, Mr Hazan said: “I’m gutted. It feels like a family death, there’s no other way to describe it. Fingers crossed we can rise from the ashes."
And Mr Hazan's wishes came true, for a while at least. The last Stolen From Ivor shop experienced a reprieve from closure thanks to a revival following the story appearing in the M.E.N.
The owner said he was inundated with people coming into the shop and sharing their stories of the off-the-wall clobber they bought from him in their youth. One man even broke down in tears whilst another wanted to buy his distinctive yellow carrier bags and sell them online.
Love Greater Manchester's past? Sign up to our new nostalgia newsletter and never miss a thing.
Following the phenomenal response to the story on the store's imminent closure, the Didsbury entrepreneur said: "It’s just been absolutely amazing. Since the M.E.N ran our story we’ve had so many people coming in and telling us about things they bought 20 years ago.
"Telling us that their mums used to bring them as kids. Now they are bringing their kids.
“I’ve had people stopping me in the street to tell me about things they bought. One bloke who came in the shop burst into tears.
Does Stolen From Ivor awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
"Another guy said he was in a band and had written a song about us and he just started singing in the middle of the shop. It’s been so overwhelming. I didn’t realise how famous we were!"
Sadly, it appears that the last Stolen From Ivor shop in Stockport's Merseyway Shopping Centre has since closed its doors. But the brand will always remain iconic to any fashion conscious Mancunian.
