Richer Sounds store in SouthamptonA typical shop layout in 2009Richer Sounds original logo, 1978-2006
Richer Sounds is a British home entertainment retailer that operates through a chain of 50 stores and online, mainly in England. The business was 100% owned by Julian Richer, the founder and managing director of the company, who in 2019 sold 60% of its shares to an employee ownership trust.[1]
History of the business
Richer Sounds formally began trading in 1978 when Richer, then aged 19, opened his first shop near London Bridge, with the help of photography retailer Vic Odden. This shop established the record for highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world in 1994, a record still current in 2023 according to the Guinness Book of Records.[2]
In November 2013, Julian Richer announced to the press that, upon his death, he would bequeath 100% of the firm to a trust co-owned by employees of the company.[3][4] In May 2019 Richer, then aged 60, announced that he had transferred ownership to employees by passing 60% of his shares to a trust,[5] as well as separately paying each of his over 500 employees, excluding directors,[6] from his own pocket a thank you bonus of £1,000[7] for every year of work, a total of about £4 million, as the employees had worked for an average of 8 years each.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
Richer Sounds won several Which? 'Retailer of the Year' or 'Best Retailer' awards, including for 2010, 2011, 2015,[17] 2018[18] 2019,[19] 2021, and 2022.[20]
Richer Sounds is an accredited holder of the Fair Tax Mark[21] for transparency over tax disclosures and the amount it pays, and a part of the Living Wage Scheme,[22] set up by the Living Wage Foundation. Founder Julian Richer backed the Living Hours campaign, which seeks to curb zero-hour contracts.[23]
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