Gift Focus - Jan/Feb 2019 (Issue 111)

How did the business start? Diana and Ben Porter bought a woodland property with a ruined house at its heart in 1978. While they were rebuilding the house, Ben discovered that walking sticks were growing naturally in the surrounding woodland. This raw material was sold to a walking stick factory called Coopers, which then existed in Surrey. Diana had the idea of buying back the finished walking sticks and sold them to local shops from the back of her car while the couple’s children were at school. Her main motivation was to be able to afford school fees. Charlotte, when did you join the business? Did you always know you wanted to work in the family business? I joined in 2003 after various marketing roles in the luxury goods industry. I did not always think I would want to work in the family business, although I had done various jobs in the company since I was old enough to stick code number stickers on canes. I think it is a very good thing for children of family businesses to go away and work in other businesses so that they have different experiences and ideas to bring back to the company. It also helps you appreciate what it is like to be an employee. Diana, has it been difficult to hand responsibilities over to Charlotte? Not at all. I have delighted in passing on everything I know and seeing her develop the business further. Her marketing experience and skills have been invaluable. What has been your experience working with family? Diana: It is definitely best if each family member has their own department and responsibilities. Charlotte: Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between business life and family life, but a great positive is that family members can be quite direct with one another and take decisions quickly without lots of meetings. Family members will tell you that your idea is no good when employees would hesitate. How has the business grown and developed since it began? Now we have a lot more export business and more emphasis on exclusive products. The customer base has changed frommainly tobacconists, gents’ outfitters and gift shops to also include garden centres, mobility stores and internet retailers. Sadly, we have less face-to-face contact with our customers now. It is too expensive to travel about to see everyone as we used to do, and fewer retailers are attending the trade fairs. Fortunately, a lot of the best ones still do, and this definitely bolsters the customer-supplier relationship to mutual benefit. Tell us about your product offering We started by selling our own homegrown products, many of which we now make on- site in our own workshops. This gradually evolved into selling sticks of all types to suit all requirements, so that now we have more than 700 walking sticks, folding sticks, formal canes, orthopaedic sticks, seat sticks and umbrellas. The emphasis is always on quality and style. Recent additions have included a licensed range in association with the National Gallery and a collection of contemporary British Wildflower designs that has proved very popular. What was your first trade show? It was the Association for Independent Tobacconists (AITS) fair, held in a hotel ballroom in Solihull. The air was thick with smoke, but it was great fun and very We speak with Classic Canes director Charlotte Gillian and her mother, fellow director Diana Porter, about the genesis and evolution of the business Homegrown business 190 giftfocus