South-west discount chain Trago Mills is set to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2015 and is planning several special promotions and activities across the year.
Founded in the 1960s by Mike Robertson and his wife Pam, Trago Mills was at the vanguard of discount retailing in the UK and now has three stores - in Liskeard and Falmouth in Cornwall, and Newton Abbot in Devon.

Bruce Robertson, son of the founder and now chairman of the Trago Mills group of companies, remembers clearly how it all started.

"Initially my parents wanted to develop the disused explosive factory site at Twowaters Foot near Liskeard as a sportsmen's resort that would offer amongst the best fresh water fishing in the county and be run in conjunction with their shark fishing vessel Quesada, a converted MTB that operated out of Looe.

"Regrettably, the authorities thought otherwise and the rest is history; no bad thing for myself as otherwise I would probably still be pulling pints and washing dishes in the clubhouse!

"With few options and no money remaining, Mike reverted to the wheeling and dealing he so enjoyed in the early post-war years and retailing began 'under the radar' in 1965 - and here we still are!"

He added that the family had seen many famous retail giants come and go since then. "But there's no doubt the main reason for our longevity is our total commitment to offering unbeatable prices on tens of thousands of products, in-store, here and ready to take away."

He also promised that "we've got some terrific new developments in the pipeline". Among them are plans to build a fourth store at Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorgan.