A family run business has shut their doors for good after nearly half a century of buisness – as the owner revealed a decline in footfall and struggling to keep up with rising costs
A family run business is set to close its doors after nearly a century of trading due to rising costs and reduced footfall.
Agriculture supplier Turriff Agri Parts (TAP) Ltd started as a small trader which quickly became one of the most established in Northern Scotland, but now the owners are preparing to close up for good.
TAP was launched in 1979 by George Mearns, with support from his brother-in-law James Murray, and it quickly became a family run business, with George’s daughter Sarah working for her dad from the age of 16.
It was the place to go for Northern Scots in need of farming supplies, but the business started to struggle during the pandemic when they lost footfall into their stores and “suffered greatly”.
Now, George, 77, plans to retire and told the Press and Journal : “It is becoming harder to run a business now because all the costs involved have increased so much over the years. Myself and the other directors have reached an age where we want to make life easier and now seems the right time to go.”
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With 10 employees, director Eileen Brown, 61, who had been at the business for 21 years added: “When we took on the premises at Thainstone in 2005, we had strong footfall coming through the door, but the change in rules and sales during the pandemic was a huge blow to our business.
“here was a big decline in footfall entering or visiting the Thainstone Centre. Sadly, the customers who previously came into our shop at Thainstone cannot justify travelling to our Turriff site, so we have lost custom because of that too.”
The business first focused on farming spares and consumables, before it rapidly grew and expanded into haulage, fishing, oil and gas. Within weeks of opening, TAP had signed a dealership agreement with Kärcher UK .According to Herald Scotland, TAP’s diversification continued when they launched the Aberdeen Pressure Washer Centre in 1980.
This marked the start of building its presence in the commercial and industrial markets. Then, a decade later, the firm added a private water supply division covering drilling, pumping and treatment services to their books.
The directors confirmed that the TAP branch in Turriff, which underwent a major refurbishment in 2017, will be up for sale or rent.
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