Ruff ride is finally over for business owner Dom
Pet lover puts fire and lockdown behind her to unveil new shop
A Renfrew business owner has beaten a fire disaster and lockdown to finally launch her new premises.
When it comes to overcoming adversity, Opie’s Emporium has recently faced more challenges than most.
Now owner Dom Hogan is trading successfully from her new 2,000sqft unit in Nasmyth Road South, Hillington Park.
In the past year, the popular and fast-growing pet treat manufacturer and pet product retailer has had to deal with a devastating fire at its previous premises, a moving-in date of Friday the 13th and then the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dom refused to be put off, saying: “I gulped when I realised our moving in day at Hillington Park was Friday, March 13, but I’d put the fire behind me and was really confident for the next stage of building the business.
“Little did I realise that within a week Covid-19 would become the next thing we had to face!
“Instead of it being a disaster for the business, what actually happened was we grew even faster than expected.
“As a pet food manufacturer and retailer, we were allowed to continue production and trading during Covid-19 and, as a result, our online business increased, with orders coming in from all over the UK.
“Being based at Hillington Park, it’s really easy for our customers to visit our shop too.”
Inspired by Dom’s pet Opie, the champion French bulldog in the UK in 2017 and 2018, the business has also developed a range of natural grooming products that cuts down on plastic waste, bringing benefits to the environment.
Grant Edmondson, commercial director at Hillington Park added: “There are hundreds of small and medium- sized enterprises at Hillington Park and all are determined to succeed and grow despite the challenges that the pandemic has presented.
“Dom and Opie’s Emporium have a fantastic manufacturing business with huge potential in both online and trade markets and very much expect we’ll be discussing their expansion needs in the future.”