With shopping early for Christmas kicking off at Home & Gift in Harrogate last week, one independent gift buyer showed that she was already ahead of the curve when it comes to thinking ahead for the festive season.
Having traditionally gone for promotions ranging from print and local advertising to door-to-door, Royal Mail and social media, Helen Crawford, an international lawyer and co-owner of lifestyle store the Old School Beauly in Invernessshire, along with her husband William, explained that they have decided to invest in an Autumn TV advertising campaign with STV. “It’s something we haven’t tried before,” she told GiftsandHome.net
“We will be taking two ads, one to get over the concept of the shop and what we sell, in October, the other highlighting lifestyle products specifically for the Christmas period, in mid-November.”
Before Helen and William bought the Old School Beauly ten years ago, a former Victorian school, it was a community owned tourist attraction with a museum and a retail outlet.
“At the time, William’s main business was music sales, but we kept the shop open and it has gradually expanded from one classroom selling Scottish gifts to every classroom in the property, with our products now ranging from giftware and lifestyle to women’s fashion, jewellery and fashion accessories, homewares and children’s. Everything we sell has a strong Scottish/Scandi theme,” adds Helen.
In 2015, the Old School Beauly won The Greats 2015 Independent Gift Retailer of the Year Scotland category.
Above: Helen and William Crawford, co-owners of The Old School Beauly.
