From Manchester’s early sportswear scene to the rise of designer casualwear, Hurleys has witnessed seven decades of changing fashion, retail and British high street culture.
There was a time when independent menswear retailers played a defining role in shaping what people wore. Long before online shopping, social media and global fashion platforms, it was often the local sports shop or clothing independent that introduced customers to unfamiliar brands, new styles and emerging trends.
In the North of England, Hurleys was one of those businesses.
Founded in 1955 by Ron and Eileen Hurley, the family business has experienced more than seven decades of British retail, from the early days of specialist sportswear to the emergence of premium casual clothing and the modern revival of retro fashion.
But its story begins somewhere rather unexpected.
Hurleys began life as a milk bar before experimenting with dry cleaning, a service that struggled to find sufficient demand in the local area.
The business eventually found its direction in sports retail, opening what the family describes as England’s first high street golf shop, at a time when specialist golf equipment was more commonly associated with professional shops on golf courses.
From modest beginnings in Salford, Hurleys expanded into Manchester city centre, including a prominent location in Piccadilly.
It was here that the business began noticing something interesting about its customers.
People were entering the shop to purchase clothing without necessarily having any interest in playing golf.
Italian-made polo shirts from brands such as Feler were attracting customers drawn to their quality, colours and appearance rather than their sporting purpose.
The distinction would help shape the next chapter of Hurleys.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, sportswear was increasingly moving beyond the environments for which it had originally been designed.
Tennis shirts, tracksuits, lightweight jackets and premium casual clothing were finding new audiences among young people interested in fashion, music and football culture.
Hurleys recognised the shift.
Around 1982, the business moved away from golf equipment and increasingly concentrated on clothing, introducing customers to brands including Lacoste, Kappa, Fred Perry and other European sportswear labels.
The shop became part of a wider movement in which functional sports clothing was being reinterpreted as everyday fashion.
Its relationships with manufacturers were particularly important.
In the interview, Mark Hurley recalls the personal connections developed with brands such as Henri Lloyd, including a relationship that eventually led to the production of a dedicated Hurleys jacket.
Other stories involve Fred Perry, Patrick football boots, Paul & Shark, Lois Jeans and the changing popularity of labels that helped define different periods of British casualwear.
These relationships illustrate a side of fashion retail that has become increasingly difficult to replicate: independent shopkeepers acting not simply as
Seven decades in business inevitably bring challenges.
For Hurleys, one of the most devastating was a fire that destroyed its Piccadilly premises.
Later came the financial pressures surrounding the banking crisis, including the withdrawal of funding shortly after the opening of a store at Liverpool One.
Mark recalls the personal and commercial consequences of those decisions, offering an insight into the risks that often accompany independent retail expansion.
The business also experienced the broader changes affecting Britain’s high streets, from the growth of major retail groups to the arrival of online shopping and the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Yet Hurleys continued adapting.
During the COVID-19 period, the business developed its approach to children’s branded clothing and outlet retail, finding new opportunities within a changing market.
Today, Hurleys operates two distinct retail concepts, bringing together contemporary menswear and womenswear with a store dedicated to retro-inspired sportswear.
The latter offers an interesting reflection on the cyclical nature of fashion.
Brands and styles once associated with the 1980s and 1990s are attracting renewed attention, often from customers too young to remember their original popularity.
For older shoppers, the appeal is frequently nostalgic. For younger customers, the same clothing represents something different: distinctive colours, recognisable branding and a departure from contemporary fashion.
The return of interest in labels such as Kappa, Rockport and other familiar sportswear names demonstrates how yesterday’s everyday clothing can become tomorrow’s sought-after vintage style.
For Hurleys, the opportunity lies in understanding both audiences.
The story of Hurleys is about more than the survival of a single clothing retailer.
It offers a perspective on an era when independent shops helped introduce new brands, influenced regional fashion and built relationships with customers that extended across generations.
These businesses were often early adopters, identifying emerging styles before they became widely available through larger retail chains.
They also carried the risks.
A changing trend, an unsuccessful expansion or an unexpected financial setback could have consequences far beyond those experienced by a major retail group.
As traditional independents become less prominent on Britain’s high streets, the experiences of businesses such as Hurleys provide a valuable record of how menswear culture developed outside the major fashion capitals.
Seventy years after its beginnings as a family business, Hurleys continues to trade, drawing on its history while finding ways to appeal to a new generation.
For The Hoxton Trend’s latest independent retail documentary, we visited Hurleys to hear those stories first-hand, exploring the clothing, characters, brand relationships and challenges behind one of the North’s longstanding menswear businesses.
Watch the full Hurleys documentary on The Hoxton Trend YouTube channel.
