The owner of a Perthshire fabrics store has revealed the secrets behind reaching its 40th anniversary.
Katie Evans has run County Fabrics in the Crook of Devon near Kinross for the past 11 years.
She took over the business from her mum, Jane Wallace, who previously ran it for around two decades, and has now retired.
County Fabrics offers a range of products including made to measure curtains, blinds and upholstery fabrics.
Ms Evans said the shop has not been without its challenges but has adapted in order to survive.
Why Katie Evans decided to take over business from mum
Ms Evans, a surveyor by trade, was working in the property banking trade when the financial crisis of 2008 hit.
It led to her decision of a career change and with her mum eyeing retirement, the County Fabrics opportunity presented itself.
Ms Evans said: “The crisis coincided with me starting a small family. I wanted to be able to be based around them.
“I took over from mum and haven’t looked back since.
“Without a doubt there have been plenty of challenges and we’ve had to adapt our model.”
Ms Evans said her biggest challenge while being owner has been online competition.
“The internet is a huge hurdle and challenger for us because there’s a competitive pressure on prices,” she said.
“Some businesses don’t have bricks and mortar so are able to sell things cheaper.
“But we overcome it through providing a really good customer service.
“Investing in curtains or blinds for your home can be expensive and you want to make sure you get it right.
“We have a great team with a lot of experience and it means we’re able to hold the customers hands through the process.”
County Fabrics also trades online and Ms Evans admits the shop and website could not survive without the other in place.
Industry boom meant we were lucky, says County Fabrics owner
Ms Evans said lockdown brought on a boom for Country Fabrics, with more time for people to redecorate their homes.
She said: “Business is steady now, but we’re just calming down on the back of a boom.
“I suppose as an industry we’ve been generally lucky and weren’t hit as hard as others by Covid.
“People spent so much time at home they decided to redecorate and the last couple of years have been huge for us.”
County Fabrics expanded its range of services in order to help customers make and fit everything for them.
Ms Evans admits the business had to do more as generational focuses have changed and less people have the time to learn the skills themselves.
She added: “People work really hard to make ends meet so we know we can help them out.
“We specialise in fabrics so we added the made to measure aspect in order to help where we can.”
Adding new services
County Fabrics will now add even more to its offerings by bringing out its own design range and launching an interior design branch of business.
Ms Evans is keen to ensure the expanding range of services brings customer back through their doors.
“We want to keep doing what we do best, that’s why we have such a loyal customer base after all.
“Whether it be marriage, a new baby, or sometimes it can be downsizing because you’ve lost a partner.
“Curtains aren’t an every day purchase but as people come in across their lives you are a part of a lot of big moments.
“I say to my colleagues we always need to be a shoulder to cry on or someone to laugh with. The longstanding relationships mean so much.”
Conversation