Boyes

W.Boyes & Co.,Limited, trading as Boyes, is a British variety retailer, founded by William Boyes in 1881 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. It has been run by generations of the Boyes family ever since. The company's slogan is "for good value" and the stores specialise in the discount retail sector, stocking a mixture of regular lines, one-off special purchases and clearance items. Boyes stores stock over 30,000 products over a large range including household products, fashion and footwear. The stores serve around 250,000 customers a week. Its full trading name is W Boyes and Co. Ltd, however the stores trade as "Boyes", but is commonly referred to as "Boyes's" (as in a shop run by the Boyes family). It is still owned and family run with Andrew Boyes and his son Richard as joint managing directors. Richard represents the fifth generation of the family. The company is based at its head office at Havers Hill in Eastfield. It expanded this site with the purchase of the former Polestar Greaves factory in 2011. It also has a warehouse site at nearby Hopper Hill. In 2024 the company purchased a further site in Eastfield at the former Pindar site at Thornburgh Road.

The stores are organised in different departments and have a large range of different products including toys, stationery, toiletries, housewares, electrical appliances, DIY items, fishing tackle, model making, soft furnishings, confectionery and pet products. They stock a large range of clothing and footwear with ranges for men, ladies, babies and children. The stores also have a comprehensive range of dress fabrics, knitting yarn, haberdashery, crafts and cardmaking products. The company has achieved ‘zero waste to landfill’ by ensuring that all cardboard and polythene generated by the stores are recycled, which generates revenue and reduces Boyes’ carbon footprint. It has a presence on social media, with accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The company supports a number of local causes and is a sponsor of Scarborough Cricket Club. In February 2012 company directors Andrew Boyes and Timothy Boyes were given Freedom of the Borough of Scarborough. The Scarborough store is part of a long-standing tradition in the town each year. Father Christmas arrives on a boat in the harbour and after a parade through the town, is resident in a grotto in the store until Christmas Eve. The grotto and window displays have a different theme each year.

Founder William Boyes was born in 1859 and started his career as an apprentice draper with a firm called George and Collings. At the end of his apprenticeship, saving £10 from his wages he opened his first store at the corner of Eastborough and Globe Street in Scarborough, selling remnants from merchants. The area was full of poverty, and the store was therefore popular with housewives. Trade increased and William needed bigger premises to operate. Two corner units on Market Street and Queen Street were purchased in 1886. Further buildings were acquired and within ten years almost all of one side of Market Street was owned by Boyes. The store was named "The Remnant Warehouse" and is still known as the Rem by older residents of Scarborough. In 1900 Boyes became a limited company when William and three friends, James Pirie, Henry Merrie Cross and JH Harrison invested in the business. Over the years William added more products to the range and the store went from a warehouse to a department store. The company began to expand to York, Hull and Grimsby in the following years. Stores in Newcastle upon Tyne and North Shields were also opened, but closed in the Great Depression. On 26 February 1915, the store was destroyed by a huge fire, which is believed to be the biggest in Scarborough's history. It caused around £70,000 of damage. The store

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