For over 45 years, Wills Brothers (York) Ltd has gained an outstanding reputation as one of the UK’s leading Bang & Olufsen specialists.
Established in 1925 as a retailer of radio receivers by two York-based brothers named ‘Wills’, the company began with very modest expectations. Then, in 1963 – the same year Bang & Olufsen was first imported into the UK – Wills Brothers’ original premises on Micklegate in York were sold to Colin Owen-Stanford and, under this new ownership, became one of the first dealers in the country to sell the iconic Bang & Olufsen brand.
Having recognised the potential of Bang & Olufsen and another ‘import’ brand – Sony – Colin set about creating a vibrant business from the remnants of Wills Brothers humble beginnings. In the 1970’s, he elected to uproot the showroom from its city centre foundations and relocate to a store on East Parade in Heworth – at which point he made the decision to cast aside Sony (as a result of its expanding commitment to the mass-market) and concentrate on the more lucrative audio-visual product range from the now famous Bang & Olufsen brand.
The period between 1994 and 2003 witnessed arguably the biggest transformation in the company’s history. After being taken ill in 1993, Colin was to put his son, Lee Owen-Stanford, in charge of the business – this decision, combined with Bang & Olufsen’s move towards dedicated franchises run by local operators, was to shape Wills Brothers’ future. The original Wills Brothers store in York became Bang & Olufsen of York in 2001 (this store closed at the end of September 2009 due to sale of property) and in 2003, the Wills Brothers store in Harrogate (which opened for business in 1994) was re-branded Bang & Olufsen of Harrogate. The icing on the cake came in August 2007 when Wills Brothers was selected by Bang & Olufsen UK as the preferred operator of a flagship store on Vicar Lane in Leeds.
As owner of Yorkshire’s two foremost Bang & Olufsen stores, the company’s future is now in Lee’s hands – a challenge he’s grasped with both hands. Not only continuing to drive Bang & Olufsen’s presence in the region, Lee is firmly committed to the influence of technology on modern-day lifestyles. With this in mind, Wills Brothers has launched a specialist service for those wishing to implement Smart Home technology – the automation and operation of domestic functions and facilities including audio-visual equipment, heating and cooling, lighting, window dressings and home security systems etc.
