A North West country clothing brand has seen revenues soar by over 140% during the pandemic - and said the crisis has similarities with the Foot and Mouth outbreak 20 years ago.
Cheshire-based Hollands said just like the fatal Foot and Mouth virus that hit the UK in 2001 and which forced its Chelford Cattle Market stall to close, Covid has forced sudden operational changes on retailers.
Hollands’ sole director at the time quickly enrolled on courses in web design, HTML coding, and photoshop, and the decision saw the firm move online - a place it now calls home.
Disley-based Hollands has almost tripled in revenue, with the retailer growing £1.6m in the financial year 2019/20 to £3.8m in the financial year 2020/21 - a 141% increase.
The firm almost tripled staff across the same period, growing from a team of six to 16 - with eight of those new hires previously losing their jobs because of Covid-19.
MD Matthew Holland said: "Being a family run business helps us. We can connect with our customers in a much more direct way.
"Plus, we come from an agricultural background, and still live on our family farm. We’re still in the same world as our customers.”
“The pandemic has been a challenging period for many businesses, we have been able to grow and operate our businesses where others have not.
"One of the main feelings I have is gratitude towards our staff for pulling together and helping us build something for the future. The unfortunate demise of the high street has been terrible, but in a brutal sense it has been inevitable.
“The future for many retail businesses is led by technology.
"The technology innovation and real industry is in the online marketplace. Where jobs have been lost jobs will and have been created elsewhere in the economy. We hired ten people during the pandemic, eight of whom had lost their jobs due to Covid-19.”
The extra demand has led the retailer to move from a 2,500 sq ft warehouse to a 7,500 sq foot site.
Mr Holland added: “Naturally due to the city centre’s being essentially closed, it has forced more people outside. People have rediscovered footpaths, and bridleways which are two minutes from their homes.
"They have always been there, but life has gotten in the way. It’s exciting to see the countryside busy again, the UK is a beautiful place with a lot to offer. In direct result we have sold much more clothing and walking boots than before.”
