‘It’s so important that we shout about local businesses on the high street’: Heritage Scottish home hardware firm up for national accolade

Brian Ferguson, managing director of Wright’s Home Hardware at the opening of a Wright’s store.

Wright’s Home Hardware stores across Scotland have been nominated in a national search to find the nation’s Favourite Local Business. There are £1500 in Town & City Gift Cards or Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards as a possible prize.  

An independent family-run group of home, hardware and gardening stores could be named as the UK’s Favourite LocalBusiness after being nominated in the national competition sponsored by Miconex.

Wright’s Home Hardware was established as an ironmongers in 1947 in Prestwick and has 12 high street stores across Scotland, including Troon, Bridge of Weir, Forres and Dunoon, plus a large garden centre joined on to their store in Helensburgh.

A number of Wright’s Home Hardware Stores are part of the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card programs, including the Troon store which is part of the South Ayrshire Gift Card and the Dunoon store which is part of the Argyll and Bute Gift Card.

Brian Ferguson is managing director of Wright’s Home Hardware and said they pride themselves on their strong staff team and offering value for money to their valued customers:

“Wright’s is a heritage Scottish business and we see our stores as a valuable local service and very much part of the community. Consistent, good service is really important and we’re fortunate to have knowledgeable, long term staff in our 120 strong team. We have team members celebrating 20, 30, 40 and 50 years’ service with the company this year alone, and that is unusual in retail.

“With 10,000 plus products, staff need a few years under their belt to become really knowledgeable. Often in the stores, customers will go in and ask for a staff member by name because they’ve come to rely on their knowledge and experience. People tend to use our website more for browsing, then visit the store for the advice, and that personal service is something you just don’t get with Amazon, plus the ability to pick something up and see if it’s fit for purpose and value for money.

“Staff retention is a challenge for all employers at the moment but I think it comes down to treating people as people and allowing them to do their jobs. For our store managers, it’s their town and their store, so they manage it as if it’s their own business, and that makes a huge difference.

“The support we have from the community is incredible. We had a fire near one of our stores, and I was waiting outside for the fire services to give us the all clear and a man stopped and said “I hope that shop is OK, it’s the best in the town.” People do rely on high street stores, especially in small towns. Being a part of the Home Hardware Buying Group allows us to offer big brands and competitive pricing and we also offer a valuable local delivery service.”

Brian says initiatives like the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card and UK’s Favourite Local Business are vital for helping independent businesses stay on the high street:

“The reality is that it’s a massive challenge for independent businesses to stay on the high street and every year it gets harder. Initiatives like the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card are a huge positive because it brings people into stores with money to spend. We have signage on the doors saying we accept the cards, it’s on our website and we talk about it on social media too. Being nominated in the UK’s Favourite Local Business is brilliant because it’s so important that we shout about local businesses on the high street as much as possible so we don’t lose them and the knowledge, experience and value they bring.”

Shops, restaurants, salons, hotels and attractions right across Scotland – and the rest of the UK – are all eligible to be the UK’s Favourite Local Business 2024. Businesses can find out more about the competition online. People can nominate their favourite local business in the competition free at lovelocalwin.co.uk, giving the name of the local business they think deserves to win and a reason.

The UK’s Favourite Local Business will be the business who has the most nominations and will win a £500 Town & City Gift Card or Scotland Loves Local Gift Card, with one person who nominated the winning business receiving a £1000 gift card.

Fintech Miconex, founders of the Town & City Gift Card concept, plus Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards delivered alongside Scotland’s Towns Partnership, is sponsoring the UK’s Favourite Local Business competition. Over 20,000 local businesses are part of Miconex’s local gift card programmes around the world with over £30m spent locally through the cards.

Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said: “It’s fantastic to see the nominations rolling in for local businesses across Scotland in this national competition, including for a respected Scottish heritage brand that has had a presence on our high streets for almost 80 years. The UK’s Favourite Local Business shines a light on the importance of local shopping and local businesses in the run up to the Christmas trading period. Keep on voting for your favourite.”

Enter the UK’s Favourite Local Business competition free at: www.lovelocalwin.co.uk

The competition closes on the 31st October 2024.