Gift Focus - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 116)

96 A family business Gift Focus talks to Evans’ owner Georgia Oakey about re-opening the store in a new location following her parent’s retirement; and launching a second shop at the original space in Halstead Evans first opened in Halstead in 1974 by sisters and business partners Sue Derrick and Diane Pumo, with the retail outlet closing in 2012. Sue’s daughter, Georgia Derrick, decided to continue the family business herself over the border in Suffolk and opened Evans in Long Melford. Now, in 2019 the original shop has re-opened pleasing locals, new customers and tourists alike Evans has recently re-opened in Halstead after being closed for several years. What were your reasons for re-opening? Evans was opened in the market town of Halstead in Essex in 1974 by the family that still owns it today. Over the years the shop built a good reputation for selling beautiful high-quality timeless items for the home. In the late ’90s my parents moved into a bigger shop in the town, which we also lived above. In 2011 (after trading for more than 30 years) Evans closed its doors in Halstead. Due to the economic climate at that time (we were still recovering from the credit crunch) and the boom of the internet, they decided it was better to have a really good closing down sale and start enjoying their retirement rather than try and sell the business. After the original shop in Halstead had closed, myself and my husband decided to have a change in career and carry on the brand in the pretty village of Long Melford, Suffolk. Evans was re-opened in 2012 in a new location. We moved into the flat above the shop with our 10-month old baby Ted and started our new life from which we’ve never looked back from. When the shop in Halstead became available to rent again earlier this year, we made the decision to open up a second shop. It was such a lovely space and Halstead is a growing town with lots of new houses popping up.  How did you choose your bricks and mortar locations? We didn’t really choose the locations, they chose us. Long Melford is touristy and pretty and a lovely place to bring up a small child. The shop frontage of both shop premises attracted us and they are both situated in the middle of the village/town to achieve the best footfall as possible. What have been the biggest challenges of shop life? Our biggest challenge as a bricks and mortar business is the constant pressure of the internet. It is relentless, ever changing and a force that cannot be reckoned with. So, we have to always be on our toes with our suppliers and pricing structure etc. Our other challenge is our business rates. They’re very high for the Long Melford branch and even though we’re a small business we have always been just that bit too large to receive any rate relief. The new two-year government scheme, however, has been a huge help, if only it was going to last more than two years!  How do you try and stay involved in the local community? With two busy shops to run it can be difficult to stay involved in the local community. We’ve always found the best way is to support the other local businesses as much as we can. So we do shop local. We also have been involved in organising seasonal events in the past like the Christmas fair.  How would you describe your customer base? Our customer base is varied but I would say the general