Market Trader Celebrates 10 Years In Business

Rob Clarke from Mad4Movies in the Butchers Market is celebrating ten years trading today, with a challenge for anyone who has not used his services.

Rob trades as ‘Mad4Movies’ in the historic Butchers Market in the town centre, and began in 2006 after being made redundant from working in IT.

“I thought I would give it a go as I was already doing bits online and through a previous job I knew I could get DVDs when not many others were doing it. My mate persuaded me and said why not give it a go in the market.”

We asked Rob how things had changed in the market, he told us: “I have seen people come and go over time, it is traditionally the butchers in here which helps with the footfall as they have been established for a long long time.

“The town markets have been in the news to get investment as they are an important part of town, and they give a platform for smaller businesses to get started.”

Asking if he had words of advice to anyone thinking of starting in the markets or in their own business Rob chuckle and said “Don’t sell DVDs!”, more seriously he added “If you can go for it go for it. You have to invest a lot of time and really work at it and make it work. You have to bang the drum and promote it and you certainly get back what you put in.”

Looking to the future Rob explained: “It is a harder field due to changes such as shopping online with movies now to download, so the fact i am still here is a testament to my regulars.

“I would say I am established now, and its not just the shop stock, I have access to around 50,000 DVDs. You get people asking for films that were say on Netflix but have disappeared off it. People still want to own and have things rather than digital downloads.

We asked Rob if he had a message to those Wrexham.com readers who had not popped in yet, and he explained what he does but also issued a fun challenge to those who perhaps are hunting an old favourite film they have not seen for a while.

“I like to think I know my stuff and can get hold of films that are hard to find, and I can recommend based off my knowledge if people are looking for something different. I have films from 50p to new releases which can be up to £8, I aim to be cheaper than the supermarkets on those, and all are guaranteed be it new or secondhand.”

“Pop in and have a chat, give me a challenge if you have an old film you have not seen for a while and I will see if I can find it!”

Rob Clarke can be found at Mad4Movies stall in the town’s Butchers Market – so pop in and say hello!