Meet the Sunderland traders marking 80 years of serving Pallion between them

The financial climate may never have been tougher for local high streets, but Michael Hughes and Steve Hodgson have bucked the trend by trading for eight decades between them.

Hairdresser Michael has seen countless traders come and go in his 50 years at the helm of Hughes Hairdressing, but he says giving customers what they want is the key to his success.

The 73-year-old said: “As long as you give the customers what they want you know you are doing a good job and we’ve never had a problem in all these years.”

After falling in love with hairdressing in his 20s, Michael set up his own salon in Martin Terrace and ran it for seven years before moving to Pallion Road where he’s been cutting hair ever since.

He said: “When I got into hairdressing I loved it, and I still love it now, I really get job satisfaction from what I do and it’s so nice when people appreciate it. People who came in as kids now come in with their kids and it’s great to have that personal relationship with the customers.”

To mark the milestones, Pallion Traders hosted a celebratory day for the two traders which was attended by loyal customers from over the years.

Steve, who runs Master Services in Martin Terrace, said: “It was a great day, loads of people came along and we had a great response on Facebook. We’ll have been in business for 30 years in December and have had so many customers through the door in that time.”

Steve began as a shoe repair business before expanding the site and becoming a specialist work wear and printing service, creating personalised work wear, which has proved successful.

“The key to success is to invest in your business and move with the times,” he explained.

The celebratory day, held at Hughes Hairdressing, raised £336 for Sunderland Royal Hospital’s Head and Neck Cancer Charity, a cause close to Michael’s heart after he was successfully treated for cancer at the unit.