The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Firm facing up to rural challenges
Highland Perthshire shopping destination House of Bruar saw turnover soar £45 million – up 15% – to January this year.
The company said this was due to a rise in its direct sales, or online and catalogue orders, which now make up more than half of its sales.
The firm says its bricksand-mortar operation will continue long into the future despite challenges, that include the rising cost of energy, adapting to pressures like changes in the environment and infrastructure and keeping talented staff in the area.
So said director Patrick Birkbeck during our tour of its impressively large distribution centre near the village of Ballinluig.
Staffing levels change during the year, Mr Birkbeck said; autumn is the busiest time, when hundreds of people can be fulfilling orders.
It sends out around 3.5 million catalogues each year as far as the US, around 85% of which are the autumn/winter edition.
That demand means two new storage facilities are under construction by local firm Algo.
Not only does the site host the direct sales warehouse, but customer service and other non-store staff are based there too.
Its relative remoteness means a number of workers are also housed there.
Patrick said: “Recruiting staff can be difficult, because of the housing limitations around this area.
“Getting accommodation for everyone is a massive hindrance for us.”
Highland Perthshire is not immune to the acute housing crisis faced by swathes of rural Scotland.
Mr Birkbeck said 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 at eight different locations between the warehouse and its premises 20 miles north in Pitagowan.
But this is less than appealing to those who want a management role, who have young family or want to live closer to their work in a more permanent setting, he said.
And bus-loads of employees are taken up the A9 daily, but the uncertainty brought by Stagecoach’s recent service shake-up has not helped matters.
The saga over dualling Scotland’s longest road has implications too.
When there are traffic collisions, the company can see a drop in footfall and takings, while staff caught in tailbacks can also disrupt business.
Completing the dualling would be “really important” for the firm and staff, as well as customers, he said
Mr Birkbeck said the company had also wanted to have electric charging facilities in the car park at its department store, but the cost was prohibitive.
“In partnership with Atholl Estates, we were keen to provide EV charging points to enhance the service on the A9,” he said.
“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.”
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 failing to meet minimum wage rules.
At the time, Mr Birkbeck said: “It came down to us running minibuses from Perth to House of Bruar and back.
“We held our hands up and were completely transparent with HMRC.”
The firm “tripped up” due to its £3 charge for the bus trips and £2.50 for laundry, which were not taken off the hourly rate.
He said the firm pays over the minimum wage and has done “for a number of years” to attract staff.
The most recent increase in wage costs, he said, amounts to £1.2m annually and was “mostly” due to the minimum wage rise.
The outlook for 2024 is uncertain, not just for retail but across the Scottish and UK economies.
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,” said Mr Birkbeck.
“Something as simple as being able to speak to our suppliers by phone, especially during the pandemic, helped reassure that bond.”