EP 143: KEEPING RETAIL IN THE FAMILY WITH CLIONA AND LARAGH STANDÚN

This week’s episode is sponsored by @salesproducersinc, a progressive business to business company representing Gift, Lifestyle, Fashion, Personal Care, & Kids lines selling to retail stores with a mission to create long lasting, profitable relationships by adding significant value to our Customer, Vendor, and Team partners. For more information, check out their social media or website www.salesproducersinc.com.

Sisters Cliona and Laragh Standún run a boutique destination store in Galway, in the West of Ireland. The family business was established by their grandparents in 1946 and has undergone many changes over the past three generations. From a general country store catering to local people’s daily needs to a world-renowned tourist destination. Nowadays, the business caters to both international and local customers as well as having a global reach on its online platform.

Both sisters worked in retail elsewhere before they teamed up together in 2012 and brought their previous experience as well as their individual skills to grow the business and work on achieving their shared vision. The sisters would say that their strengths are like ‘chalk & cheese’ which makes for the perfect duo. With both having over 20 years’ retail experience, they eat & breathe everything retail and are always trying to advance their business and continue to grow in an ever-changing and competitive environment.

In 2017, they expanded and opened a second store in a nearby town called Oughterard, which has

been a success and has allowed them to double that retail space within 5 years. The business has gone through its fair share of ups and downs throughout its almost 80 years. The family had to adapt to many economic changes over the years in order to remain competitive and relevant.

Cliona and Laragh are the podcast’s very first international listeners, and here, they share how they’ve grown their family business to what it is today. The Standún sisters also discuss how they divide up their workload, how they tackle their buying, what it’s like to attend an international gift fair, and more.

What’s Inside: