“There’s no better thing you can do, than to carry on a legacy that’s been there for 100 years.”
The words of David Kenwell, 30, who has become the caretaker of a family business that will celebrate 100 years trading next year.
The only son of Fred and Evelyn Kenwell, David tells The Impartial Reporter: “I never had any ambition to do anything else. It was a foregone conclusion that I would be coming into the business. There’s no better thing you can do than to carry on a legacy that’s been there for 100 years. My one hope is that I can keep it going and hopefully expand.”
He adds: “When you are working on something you love, you don’t see it as a job, it’s a way of life, you just get on with it.”
Established in 1916 as a grocery and delft shop by Jane Lendrum (David’s great-aunt), the store was later taken over by David’s grandfather, Alfred Kenwell, who expanded the business into a general merchants. David’s father Fred Kenwell entered the family business when he left school aged 16 and took over in 1975 when he was 24 years old. He married Evelyn the following year and the pair have overseen the business for the last 39 years, ably assisted by Fred’s brother Charles.
As farming has modernised, A.E. Kenwell & Sons followed suit, expanding its general merchant store in Dromore; opening an engineering yard where the company manufactures and fabricates industrial and agricultural portal frame sheds; and becoming a fertiliser agent, delivering bulk feed around the Tyrone and Fermanagh areas. 
In 1996 the original shop was demolished and a modern-day shop built on site. Five years ago, an investment was made in a Christmas Showroom. “Any time there was a gap in the market, my father had the foresight to recognise it and to move with the times,” David said.
As a child, he recalls: “We all lived here so there was no such thing as coming home and watching cartoons! You got your homework done and you got out to the yard, either here (at the shop) or on the family farm.” He and his four sisters were regularly tasked with dealing with customers, pricing stock, sweeping the yard and dealing with new deliveries.
After completing his GCSEs, David attended Agricultural College in Enniskillen for one year, before being given responsibility for the family beef, dairy and sheep farms.
“Daddy trained us from a young age in the ways of the family business,” David continues. “He always made you work on every aspect of the business and he always stressed how important it is to know your business inside out – you can’t be talking to a customer and not understand what they are talking about.”
Reputation is important for any business, but particularly a family business which sees other local businesses using its services. “We do business with other small businesses so we are very passionate about supporting local companies,” David comments.
Despite knowing that he was destined to become responsible for the business, David’s time came too soon, when his father recently became ill. “Throughout Fermanagh and Tyrone Daddy is very well known. Unfortunately he is unwell and I’ve been thrust into the helm of the business sooner than I would have liked,” says David. 
“It’s unfair because Daddy is only 64 and never had any intention of retiring. Daddy’s still the boss. He knows everything that’s going on and we still try to get his input and knowledge every day. 
“His knowledge and know-how of business and people will never be fit to be replaced.
“It has been a hard year but the will and passion of our staff, who we consider as family, has pulled us through.”
David reserves special praise for his mother Evelyn who, he says, “works incredibly hard and goes out of her way each day for the good of the business.”
The Kenwells are a farming family, and David states: “Because we are farmers ourselves, we know what farmers want and need.” 
With the agriculture sector struggling, David notes: “When farming is good, business is good. When farming is bad you have to be there to support the farmer. But credit is an issue. At the minute, farming is as bad as it has ever been in quite a long time. But I know that farmers are resilient. Farmers are always modernising and it’s about keeping up with whatever farmers need; we are always trying to add new strings to our bow.”
Looking to the future, David sees the benefit in online sales. The internet “opens a gate to the world,” says David, who cites Facebook as an excellent advertising tool. “Last year I recognised that we needed an online presence with our Christmas shop.  
“We piloted on eBay and Amazon for six months, a move that has over exceeded our expectations! We have sent packages to Australia, France, Portugal, Columbia and Dubai.”
Next year, David plans to open a coffee shop on site and launch an online store selling the general merchant’s stock and Christmas goods. 
That move will involve investment and new challenges, for example, paying couriers, ensuring enough stock to meet online demand, being on hand to answer queries promptly, investing in a new website and deciding on branding.
David concludes: “Kenwells has been changing and evolving since my grandfather’s day, and online is going to be the next big change.”