By Paul Hayes
ADELAIDE, SA: South Australian retail icon, Keith Bowden Electrical, has celebrated its 45th year in business.
Originally opening its doors in 1965 to service electrical customers from Adelaide’s southern suburbs, the store has remained a family-run operation, originally by Keith himself, and now by sons Graeme and Trevor as managing director and company secretary, respectively.
According to Trevor Bowden, despite being a relatively small retailer, Keith Bowden Electrical has been able to stay in line with larger rivals through its membership in the national buying group, NARTA.
“The power we get through our alliance with NARTA allows us to keep up with multi-nationals on price.”
Last year also saw the store undergo a rebranding in order to maintain pace with the ever evolving electrical retail sector.
“The electrical retail industry has undergone immense changes over the last 20 years, especially with the advent of digitalisation and the growing emphasis on energy efficiency, and we wanted an image that which presented us as a modern family business which is moving with the times,” said Trevor Bowden.
Keith Bowden Electrical was inducted into the Family Business South Australia Hall of Fame in 2005.