“We are a relatively young family business in comparison to many, but we have coped with recessions, foot and mouth disease and flooding”
Deep in the heart of Wicklow, yet only 30 minutes from Dublin, is a treasure of The Garden County – Fishers of Newtownmountkennedy.
Specialising in clothes from smart to casual, with accessories and gifts, it encompasses a variety of retail and business services under one roof – including its relaxing café/restaurant to chill out and enjoy this pleasant corner of the county.
“We are the second generation, and I am the second family member to run it,” explains Rebecca Harrison.
Fishers is a family business that began when the previous generation, who were sporting enthusiasts, discovered a gap in the market for well-made athletic gear. Having begun in 1980 under the stewardship its original owner/managers — Rebecca’s parents plus aunts and uncles — she took the reins herself in 2010.
“While I’m the managing director, my sister, Charlotte Errity, and brother-in-law, Eoghan Errity, both work in the business too. They work part-time — Charlotte in payroll and finance and Eoghan manages the products on the website and our IT.”
Rebecca explains that while the sporting aspect was what originally established the business, it is now a much smaller part of our expanded offering.
“The range of product offering has evolved and changed over time, with each generation bringing their own decisions and choices into the business to suit the customers and their changing tastes down through the years.”
Happy to move forward with a ‘constant evolution’ as the times demanded, Rebecca readily agrees that the past two years of Covid has seen a number of necessary changes.
“We are a relatively young family business in comparison to many, but even in our 43-year history we have coped with a number of recessions, foot and mouth disease, flooding – all sorts of challenges where we’ve had to regularly regroup and examine better and more efficient ways to run the business and cater to our customers.”
The ability to draw upon the family experience was key to keeping the business afloat and thriving through the various downturns and difficult periods, she agrees: “It was tremendous to have that direct family experience and wisdom so close to hand to call upon during those challenging periods.
“Also, of course, so many of our staff have been with us for such a long time, which is another area of experience that has been incredibly beneficial to Fishers down the years. That combination of family and staff makes for a wonderful source of wisdom and mentorship as the business progresses through the years.”
The arrival of Covid-19 and the resulting closures of businesses all across the country forced Fishers to take stock of yet another challenge – but one quite unlike any other in the company’s history.
“We were lucky in having invested considerably in our website before the pandemic hit, and the forced closure of the shop gave us time to redirect our resources to the online story.”
Rebecca underlines the importance of an Enterprise Ireland grant, in addition to the government’s pandemic payments — both of which effectively helped keep Fishers and its staff intact through those many challenging months.
“Our online sales improved 900% — albeit from a very small base to start with – but helped hugely in keeping the business viable.”
Having managed to keep all the staff employed — apart from a handful who took the opportunity to retire — Rebecca considers this one of the major successes of the past few years.
“Our staff are like family and keeping us all together was a hugely satisfying outcome, especially when so many other enterprises around the country didn’t experience such a happy outcome,” she said.
Today, Fishers of Newtownmountkennedy still retains that family ethos upon which it was built — but now driving forward as a fitter and leaner 2022 concern. Having come a long way from its 1979 founding by the three Hughes siblings and partners, it has grown from a small country-clothing outfitter to an 11,000sq ft hub of retail activity that includes a menswear shop, ladies boutique, gifts, homewares and children’s clothing department.
They have also brought in other complementary businesses; a hair salon, bed and bedding store, artists workshop/gallery, and an award-winning café. Run by Rebecca, Charlotte and Eoghan, the Fishers’ ethos continues to be built upon the core values of excellent personal customer service and a range of best quality products.
As published in the Irish Examiner Saturday May 21st
