A family-run Fife wholesale business has opened its first shop in St Andrews.
Selbrae House, which was set up by Donny Carstairs in 2006, offers a wide range of brands and homeware products.
The business, which has its base in Kirkcaldy, includes brands such as The Just Slate Company, Scottish Made, Naturally Med and The Linen Table.
Now having established itself in the wholesale sector, the firm is branching into retail with the opening of its first store.
It has moved into the former Joules shop on St Andrews’ Bell Street after the clothes shop shut in January.
Donny said: “We’ve always wanted to have our own shop and we now think we’ve got a wide enough range to make it work.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen a huge surge in sales of our products in Scotland.
“When you take the combination of beautiful design and illustration and the made in Scotland tag, it’s a powerful selling tool.”
‘We hope that is a good sign’
Donny and the team got the keys to their new premises just two weeks ago.
He had been looking at the former Minick Butchers on Bell Street. However when Joules moved out the town, Donny moved quickly to secure the shop.
Donny said: “We feel St Andrews has the perfect mix of tourism and home buys to make our shop successful.
“This shop is only a year’s lease and that appealed to me. We can see if we’re going to be a success in St Andrews and either renew the lease or find another premises.”
The firm, which has 40 staff in Kirkcaldy, has invested in a refurbishment of the premises and opened on Wednesday.
Donny added: “The shop was in good condition but we’ve had a big push over the past 10 working days to get it all ready.
“The amount of people who were knocking at the window and trying to get in before we opened was unbelievable. We hope that is a good sign.
“To open the shop in our home town and with a fantastic location is really exciting.”
St Andrews jobs created at new store
Four jobs have been created with the opening of the store, and more may be needed.
Donny added: “We’ll hopefully going to bring in a shipping service and a personalisation. That may add to the number of staff we need here.”
The business is very much a family affair, with Donny’s mum Louise, dad Ian, brother Colin and sister Emma all involved in the firm.
He said the siblings enjoy working alongside each other.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “They are your best friends and your most loyal staff.
“We know where we’re going and we work well together.”
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