Highland Perthshire shopping destination House of Bruar enjoyed a 15% increase in turnover — to the tune of £45 million— to January this year.
This, the company said, was due to an increase in its direct sales, or online and catalogue orders, which now account for more than half of the money coming in.
And the firm is adamant its bricks-and-mortar operation will continue long into the future.
But, with that comes a range of challenges, including the rising cost of energy, adapting to pressures like changes in the environment and infrastructure, and keeping talented staff in the area.
So director Patrick Birkbeck says, during our behind-the-scenes tour of the distribution centre near the village of Ballinluig.
Housing for staff hindering potential
Rather unsurprisingly, the warehouse — which sits just off the A9, south of the service station — is impressively large.
The staffing levels flux during the year, Patrick says. In autumn, the busiest time of the year for House of Bruar, there can be hundreds of people fulfilling orders.
It sends out around 3.5 million catalogues are sent out each year, across the UK, Europe and the US.
The vast majority of these, around 85%, is the autumn/winter edition.
As such, two new storage facilities are currently under construction by local firm Algo.
The companies have enjoyed a relationship going back 20 years, with the builders having put-up the first warehouse on the site in the early 2000s.
Not only does the site host the direct sales warehouse, but customer service and other non-store staff are based there too.
Because of its relative remoteness, a number of workers are housed in accommodation.
Patrick added: “Recruiting staff can be difficult, because of the housing limitations around this area.
“Finding people who want to work with us and can live locally can be very difficult.
“Getting accommodation for everyone is a massive hinderance for us.”
Highland Perthshire is not immune to the acute housing crisis faced by swathes of rural Scotland.
Patrick recently attended a community council meeting, where the lack of affordable homes was brought-up.
He says staff being able to live nearby is imperative for the future growth of the company.
House of Bruar can house staff, on a short-term basis, across eight different locations between the warehouse and its premises 20-miles north in Pitagowan.
But this is less than appealing for those who might wish to take-on a management role, who have young family or want to live closer to their work in a more permanent setting, he says.
And of course, bus-loads of employees are taken up the A9 every morning, but the uncertainty brought by Stagecoaches’ recent service shake-up has not helped matters.
The A9 and difficult electric chargers
The long-running saga to dual Scotland’s longest road has implications for the business too.
When there are road traffic collisions, the company does notice footfall and takings can be affected.
Staff can be caught up in long tail-backs, bringing disruption to the organisational running.
Completing the dualling process would be “really important” for the company and staff, as well as customers.
But it is not just widening the road which has brought difficulties.
Patrick explained the company was keen to get electric charging facilities into the car park at its department store.
To do so, however, would cost the firm at least £4m.
“In partnership with Atholl Estates, we were keen to provide EV charging points to enhance the service on the A9.
“However, a recent quotation estimated the costs of providing power to the site to be £4m because of the lack of capacity in the network infrastructure.”
Wage concern
And staffing costs have gone up, following changes to the minimum wage.
Last year, the company was “named and shamed” by the UK Government as one which did not comply with minimum wage rules.
At the time, Patrick said: “It came down to us running minibuses from Perth to House of Bruar and back.
“We held our hands up and we were completely transparent with HMRC.”
He said the they pay above minimum wage and has done “for a number of years”.
The most recent increase in wage costs, he says, amount to £1.2m annually. This was, he said, “mostly related to the increase in the minimum wage”.
More than 300 people are currently employed by the company, slightly more than worked there pre-pandemic.
Braving the economic uncertainty
The outlook for 2024 remains uncertain, not just for retail but across the Scottish and UK economies.
Patrick adds the upcoming elections here and in America, could have an unsettling affect.
The US market has been an area of intense growth for House of Bruar, driven in part by Black Friday deals coinciding with the autumn/winter sale.
Uncertainty brought by Brexit has been felt too.
“Fortunately, we have long standing relationships with European suppliers, which has helped,” Patrick says.
“Something as simple as being able to speak to our suppliers by phone, especially during the pandemic, helped reassure that bond.”
The “personal touch” ethos at House of Bruar will be front and centre, Patrick adds.
“We will deal with these problems and make sure our customers do not have to.”
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