The Scarborough-based business is defying the gloom on the high street and last year reported its biggest ever pre-tax profit in spite of having no online sales presence. “We are still working on multi-channel,” said Andrew Boyes, joint managing director. “We are still retail stores in the high street. “It’s providing customers with the product they want at the right sort of price and providing a degree of service. “We look very much at repeat business, the same people coming back week after week. “We have not done anything different; it’s what we have traditionally tried to do.” In the year ending January 2012, the company made a pre-tax profit of £4.5m on sales of £63.4m. Like for like sales were said to be flat. Mr Boyes described the year as “reasonably successful”. “It’s a difficult market, nothing is coming easy. We understand our customers, we have managed to make progress when others were struggling,” he said. He became managing director in 1984 and is now 65. His son Richard, 37, is joint MD and represents the fifth generation of the family. The Boyes flagship store is at Scarborough. It is the group’s most profitable. Goole and Holbeach are also strong performers. Mr Boyes hopes to open three new stores this year and two in 2013. They will be in Yorkshire and the Midlands. The debt-free company is funding the expansion through cash after ploughing profits back into the business. It is also extending its distribution facilities in Scarborough to cope with the new stores.