Chris White has been at the forefront of men’s fashion in the town since starting at A.R. White & Son as an 18-year-old in 1980 alongside his father Kenneth, making him the third generation of the family to work at the shop on Church Street.
The family business on Church Street was established by Albert Reginald White in 1929, with Kenneth White coming on board in 1949, before knocking the shop down and rebuilding it in the same spot.
The 63-year-old said that he had made the decision to close the shop as he felt the time was right to retire, although it was a decision tinged with emotion.
He said: “I’ve decided, after 45 years of working six-day weeks, to wind down and close the shop this autumn, which is a bittersweet feeling as it’s been a massive part of the family for more than 95 years.
“It’s going to be a sad and emotional day when I finally shut the shop, but it just feels like it’s the right time to do it and I’ve had that feeling for a couple of years.
“We were impacted by Covid, which upset every business and cost us a lot of money because I had to refit the shop and then with family retiring and friends retiring, it just felt, after 45 years, like the right time to do it.”
Mr White spoke about the history of the shop, which started in 1929 when his grandfather bought the existing Richardson’s shop after the owner decided to close it and it had grown in popularity around Bilston due to the quality of the clothing and the friendly personal service.