Graham Enniskillen are celebrating 70 successful years as a family-run business this month.

Founded by his father Mr. Alec Graham in 1948, store owner Bryan Graham comments on what the family business means to him. He said:

“It’s been my whole life, I used to work here after school when I was 16 and during the school holidays. I then went to university and got a degree in Engineering but I decided that I would come back and work in the shop because I liked it.”

He continued: “I’ve been working full time here for 43 years but if you add in the part-time work, it’s been 50.”

Noting what makes Graham’s stand out as a store, Bryan said: “I remember reading a few years ago that one of the big multiples was going to introduce a thing called ‘personal shopping’ and I was wondering ‘what’s that.’ It suddenly dawned on me that that’s what we’ve been doing all the time. In other words, we have been looking after our customers very well and that’s why they come back to us. They enjoy the chat and the service.”

Talking about the future of Graham’s and Enniskillen as a retail spot in general, Bryan said:

“The future is hopefully bright for Graham’s. I think that shops that provide a good service and a good product will survive. Enniskillen has two new shops opening on the high street very shortly and I was delighted to see that after a period of recession. People are wanting to come into Enniskillen and open shops again which endorses the town as a place where people like to come to shop. I think there is a place for Graham’s in that mix in the future.”

Commenting on the digital market, Bryan is confident that his bricks and mortar store will stand strong. He said: “We get a lot of customers who research a product online but they still want to buy it from us, which I think is a testament to our staff who look after them so well.”