The Citizen, 1994-09-21, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21,1994.1
1804
Retail side of Bainton's business boomed in 1960s
cities like London, Sarnia, Stratford, Kitchener-
Waterloo and Guelph for shopping trips. Others
came from the U.S. and even Europe.to choose
from the huge selection of garments, gloves and
sheepskin rugs on display. By 1970 on a fall
weekend, it was hard to find a parking space in
the entire downtown area of Blyth as shoppers
flocked to the annual fall sale.
In the early 1970s, Glenyce and her husband
Richard Snell, who had specialized in the
tannery end of the busmess, decided to open
their own busmess. The Old Mill, a mile south
of Blyth. Rather than dividing the existing
busmess the fact that there were now two retail
outlets to choose from now seemed to attract
even more shoppers. By 1977, when Blyth
celebrated its centennial, Bainton’s Old Mill had
an inventory of 15,000 garments, including
jackets, coats, blazers and pants, motocycle
jackets, chaps and gloves.
Keeping on top of the latest trends in styles
means
sold through the
factory outlet or
exchanged with
farmers in payment
for their wool.
Circumstances in
the 1960s, however,
led to a huge
expansion of the
retailing arm of the
Bainton Limited
operation. First, the
move of the tannery
operation to Hullett
Township left the
downtown building
nearly vacant except
for the small retailing
operation, offices and
storerooms.
Secondly, Frank
and Cenetta
Bainton’s only
daughter,Bainton’s Old Mill: A shopping mecca for shoppers seeking quality wool and leather GienyCe joined
products at factory outlet prices. the firm. She’d
grown up
around the wool and leather busmess and
studied business administration at the
University of Western Ontario.
Glenyce at first travelled doing sales for
the company to other retailers but became
interested in expanding the retail outlet at
Bainton’s Old Mill. More and more people
were willing to make the drive to Blyth to
get quality wool and leather products at
factory outlet prices.
When the small retail outlet could
no longer cope with the numbers
of people coming, the family
decided to expand, taking over more of the
downtown building. The next few years
brought phenominal growth at the factory
outlet. Thousands of people travelled from
While Bainton Limited has always played
a large role in the village of Blyth and in
the leather industry nation wide, the
highly visible, consumer oriented retailing part
of the business gained new prominence from the
1960s onward.
There has always been a retailing element of
the company, starting with a small retail outlet
that sold mitts, work gloves and leggings in the
original Bainton Brothers plant before the fire of
1898. Retailing continued when the plant was
rebuilt and when the brothers built an addition
to the north side of the building in 1925 and
began manufacturing yam and blankets from
their own virgin wool, those products too were
offered to the public. Basket weave blankets,
regular brushed wool blankets, auto robes,
horse blankets and hand knitting yams were all
Cenetta, Franklin Bainton and
Glenyce (Bainton) Snell.
plenty of travel for members of the
family. There are fashion
shows to attend and
meetings with
manufacturers to have
leather from the Bainton
Limited tannery turned
into leather coats and
garments for the
Bainton’s Old Mill outlet.
Over the years the
retailing operation
at Bainton’s Old
Mill has expanded to
take over all of the mam
floor of the building.
In 1987, Franklin
turned over the retail
part of the operation to
their grandchildren,
Franklin, Jayne,
Amanda and Richard
(Jr.) Snell^
Employees have been key in Bainton growth
Brenda Brooks has been office manager at Bainton
Ltd. from 1979 to the present.
Bainton’s stands behind its products.
For 100 years this partnership of leadership
and employees, looking after the customer,
has helped Bainton’s grow to become one
of the largest employers in Blyth. Along the way
many dedicated employees have contributed to
the company’s success, some spending their
entire careers working alongside the Bainton
family. Many have also made outstanding
contributions to their community through their
work with service clubs, churches and other
community organizations.0
No company can have as long and proud a
history as Bainton’s without everyone
from top to bottom being committed to
quality and customer service.
Employees at Bainton’s Old Mill, (which
employs 17 people full and part time) are
continually coached in customers relations.
They’re taught that the customer is the most
important person in the busmess. He is not an
interruption of the employee’s work, he is the
purpose of it. Everyone in the company is
dependent on the customer. The customer is the
person who brings his wants to Bainton’s. It is
the Job of the staff to handle and to make sure
his visit is profitable for him, and in doing so it
will be profitable for the company and its
employees too.
The secret to Bainton’s success is its
customer service, sleeves are shortened on site
free of charge for up to one year after purchase
of a garment. A garment is serviced free of
charge for any flaws that are garment-related.
In 1977 when Blyth celebrated its centennial, Bainton staff members posed with the float they entered in the
Centennial parade.