Herefordshire's Baches Bargains promised 'bargains of a lifetime'

The village of Bodenham may have seemed an unlikely place to seek the bargain of a lifetime, but that is what Baches Bargains promised.

Ron Bache, wife Phyllis, and son Robert opened their brand-new warehouse opposite the village's post office in March that year, just a year after a disastrous fire gutted their old premises.

The new shop was reported at the time to be a "vast modern emporium, crammed full of every conceivable bargain, well laid out, easily inspected, with all items individually priced".

And what prices, the Hereford Times said, with Ron Bache and his son able to offer rock-bottom prices by buying in large quantities from all over the UK.

Baches Bargains in Bodenham in 2009 (Image: Google Maps)

The 16,000 square foot warehouse was home to children's toys, a "bewildering range" of china and glassware, garden tools and essentials, pictures and frames, books, wool, basketware, "ornaments galore", and kitchen utensils.

Bache's also carried a large range of silk flowers, clothing, curtains, sheets, and kitchenware, alongside a large range of tools and equipment "to suit every DIY job from motoring to carpentry", paints, motor oils, and accessories.

Mr Bache said at the time that VHS tapes were also available, at an "unbeatable" price of £3.25 for a four-hour tape, while their range of greetings cards and stationary would please everyone.

Many will have fond memories of the long-running business, which later also offered plants, garden ornaments, trees and shrubs, as well as gas canisters and logs for sale.

Baches Bargains offered a huge array of products (Image: Hereford Times)

It had first started in 1980, when Ron Bache rented a van and went in search of items to sell from the farm buildings he owned on the site.

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"He soon found out that people were asking him to look for different things to sell so after about two years we bought the large warehouse on the same site where the business grew," said son Robert Bache in 2017.

But after 37 years, with the business having diversified to offer storage, it was decided to close the shop five years ago in November 2017 to focus solely on the storage side of the business.

Rob Bache at Baches Bargains in 2017 (Image: Hereford Times)

"Over the last few years retail trade has changed with the internet so we thought we would have to think of something different to do," Robert Bache said at the time.

"We decided to go into storage in a small way but within two years we noticed how big it was getting so we decided to reduce the size of the retail side and concentrate more on the storage side.

"It was with great regret that this year we decided to close [the shop], but we will still be carrying on with the storage and will still be here if some of the old customers want to call by for a chat."

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