The secrets behind the legendary Soho Road store ‘still standing’ after 50 years and the challenges they faced

Balloons and desi pop filled the air as locals cheered on a legendary business owner who officially marked 50 years of hard work on Soho Road. Legendary family business C&S Homestore celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend, and as owner Gurmit Beghal smiled humbly alongside his adoring customers, a crucial thought crossed his mind.

Thank God he was able to show his parents that. The jovial 59-year-old recalls a time when his parents immigrated to Birmingham in the 1960s from a poverty-stricken background. They opened C&S Homestore, a treasure trove of goods perfect for the South Asian home, with authentic Asian pottery, tableware, religious statues and flower garlands.

It’s like a gateway to India that transports you to a world of incense smoke and marigolds. However, Gurmit’s laugh and sparkling eye keep the customers flowing day after day.

Read more: We visited an ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ on Soho Road which has been a family shop for the last 47 years

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Having inherited the shop from his parents, the family has weathered recessions, setbacks, the online shopping boom and Covid-19 to remain one of Soho Road’s long-standing businesses. On the anniversary on May 25, Gurmit said, “We first went to the temple to thank you spiritually, which was very emotional.

“It’s an appreciation that my mum and dad are still here, I was only nine when they opened C&S Homestore and I didn’t know we’d be here after so many years.

“It was very sentimental. Customers came here as children and now they bring their own children.”

C&S Homestore is one of the few remaining independent businesses on Soho Road, others include homewares store Sadiq Bros and Soho News newsagents. Gurmit runs the Handsworth store with his brother and father, his secret to surviving for so long is to never let the external economy affect business.

When he asked his father “how did you survive the recession?” his father replied “what recession?” Gurmit praises their generation for progressing and changing with the times, no matter how tough it was. They once sold wedding items that they abandoned because it started to fade and they stopped selling items that were no longer valid.

Nowadays, C&S has made its debut on TikTok, hoping to attract a younger audience by posting videos about the history of C&S. They have also joined the world of e-commerce with Amazon, eBay and Shopify profiles.

On C&S’s future, Gurmit said, “We don’t know what’s around the corner, so we’re moving on. As for C&S, my kids love the business, but I don’t see them doing it anymore because they don’t have the same thing. passion for her.

“I continued because I had a responsibility to the community. I’ll be honest, you have to look at your health too, do we pass this on to someone else or do we move on?

“The sentimental values ​​that we keep here, sometimes you have to give them up. Thanks to TikTok, we had people from Leicester, Bradford and Nottingham come on Saturday.

“Now we see a whole new generation coming into our store. People wanted to take pictures of mom and dad, that’s something they started and they navigated racism, they didn’t speak English, people don’t like their culture, all of that to get to where we are now.”

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