Cheryl Taylor talks to Footwear Retailer Thomas McVeigh of Donaghys, Banbridge, County Down. Q&A:
Name: Thomas McVeigh Shop: Donaghys
Brands: Clarks, Startrite, Agatha Ruiz, Bio Mecanics, Lelli Kelly, Converse, Skechers, UGG in our kid’s department. Clarks, Ugg, Moda in Pelle, Barker, Reiker, Gabor to name a few in our adult’s department.
Home Town: Banbridge, County Down. Family: Wife, two sons and two grandaughters
40 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • JANUARY 2016
How did you get into footwear? Tell us about your background and your current business? My wife is the daughter of the original founders of Donaghys, Peter and Eileen Donaghy, so I took a keen interest in the footwear business and in particular the children’s trade.
Where are your premises located and how many people do you employ? Do you have a high turnover of staff? Tell us about your shop(s), the local area, your customers and their requirements? Donaghys originally opened in 1960 in Banbridge, County Down, with Peter and Eileen at the helm. Their son Michael and daughter Anne joined the business in the 1980’s. In recent years Donaghys has become a 3rd generation family business with our son Peter launching our website in 2010. We celebrated 55years in business in March 2015 with great support from all our suppliers and customers and are very much looking to the future. Our store is something of a one stop shop for all the family with a dedicated children’s department, ladies and gents footwear department, a sports department and a ladies clothing department. Within the store we employ around 50 staff which are a mixture of full and part timers and students. Many of our staff have been with us from a young age.
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