Gordon Badley and his son Keith opened G. N. Badley & Sons, in Gibbons Road, Trench, in March 1976.

The shop has served the needs of customers from across Telford, Shropshire and wider afield, thanks to a successful online store, ever since.

Keith sadly passed away in 2011 but today the family tradition still continues as it is now Simon Badley, Keith’s son, and Kay Badley, Keith’s widow, who run the business.

And Simon, who now heads the family enterprise as managing director, believes family butchers can still compete with and survive the competition from supermarket giants.

His father and grandfather initially launched a wholesale and catering focused company with butcher and catering establishments throughout the West Midlands,.

But in 2000, Keith began to take a more retail focus and soon established a reputation as a reliable family butcher.

The website launched in 2012 with an online shop, which has allowed the business to expand with customers stretching from London to Scotland.

Despite the demise of many family businesses Mr Badley is confident for the future of small butchers.

He said: “The fact we are celebrating our 40th anniversary shows just how strong we are.

“We remain loyal to our customers and we recognise what they need. We know that people like a personal touch, which supermarkets cannot offer.

“We give advice on the right cut, how to cook the meat, what works well for different recipes and all that is knowledge is lacking from a supermarket counter.”

Mr Badley said the business has also kept up with new technology, enabling it to keep expanding.

He said: “We sell our products all over the UK now and our website is vital to our business.

“We recently launched a new website and it’s proved really popular. We are one of only eight butchers in the county that offers online ordering.”

The busy butchers sends out a regular newsletter to 8,000 subscribers, which results in hundreds of those customers placing online orders.

It has around 5,000 hits on its website each month and holds regular online competitions.

Mr Badley said: “We make sure there is always something new to look at on our website, whether that’s a new blog, a piece of news or just updated information about our products, delivery, opening hours and reviews.”

Just some of the highlights from the past year have included supporting national campaigns such as Breakfast Week and Sausage Week as well as backing healthier menus at local schools.

“We are proud to be a vocal part of our local community,” Mr Badley said.

“Over this past year we have launched a new sausage in conjunction with Redrow homes to celebrate a new development in Telford, campaigned for the rights for farmers to get a fair price for lamb, donated money to charity through the sale of barbecue products to help raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide and held various competitions which award our loyal customers with prizes.”

Mr Badley said he and his mother were proud to have continued his father’s legacy.

He said: “After my father died in 2011, we wanted to carry on the business. It was hard but it was so important to us and we want to continue to move the business forward and make it grow.

“We pride ourselves on offering the customer the easiest experience for them and we will continue to look for ways to improve this.”
This year, Mr Badley will host a series of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary with his customers old and new.
These will include special offers and competitions where every prize will add up to the value of £40.

The butcher will also promote special offer weeks and hold celebratory events for staff and customers in the shop on the day.

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