Garrard’s main Swindon plant faced on to Fleming Way and extended along Newcastle Street
CUSTOMERS of Halfords and The Range park their cars where this Art Deco landmark once stood.
By the time this photograph was taken in Fleming Way in 1980, hi-fi manufacturer Garrard, once one of Swindon’s most successful businesses, was two years from its demise.
Although the products made by the skilled workforce were and are revered by connoisseurs, that was not enough to save it.
Competition from cheap imports and - according to many commentators at the time - a progressive lack of direction and investment from the top meant the end was all but unavoidable.
Equipment made there still changes hands for large sums.
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