Focus on Business — J & S Allan

A family business spanning three generations is about to begin a new chapter as John and Sheelagh Allan of J. & S. Allan will retire on Saturday, February 28.

Trading in everything you might need to furnish a home, the Stromness-based firm has grown significantly since it began almost 30 years ago.

John and Sheelagh first began trading in floor coverings from their home in Birsay before taking over the shop at North End Road in Stromness from Geordie and Vina Pirie.

John recalls how the business in Birsay started to grow very quickly allowing them to take on their first employee, apprentice carpet fitter Michael Leitch who was the first of many. In the early days John would lay carpets for Geordie and Vina and got to know them very well.

When Geordie first mentioned taking over the shop the immediate response was “don’t be daft” — but all these years on they are glad they took the plunge and are very grateful for the help and encouragement that Geordie and Vina gave them. 

“We were turning over an amazing amount of carpets, far more than expected,” says John, who explained that while the move to Stromness allowed them to expand their range of home furnishings and more recently, electrical goods, flooring has remained the core part of the business.

Over the years, John estimates that they have laid hundreds of thousands of square metres of flooring from small domestic jobs to larger contract jobs.

During that time, the Allans have built up а strong and loyal customer base of returning customers — including island hoteliers such as Karen and Gareth Crichton of The Ferry Inn, Lorna Munson of The Merkister and Malcolm Stout of The Lynnfield to whom John and Sheelagh are incredibly grateful.

The business has also become a cornerstone of the retail sector in Stromness, providing home goods and furnishings locally and employment to 11 staff. The shop draws a lot of people into Stromness and many continue down the street to visit other shops or have a coffee.

John and Sheelagh’s family have grown along with the business. As they retire, they will hand over the reins to their son Garry who first started with the business as an apprentice carpet fitter aged 16.

Garry’s son Logan is now an apprentice carpet fitter with the business and daughter Hannah recently joined the business and will take on much of the administration work previously done by her grandmother. 

John and Sheelagh are proud to be handing over the business to the next generation, as they take a step back. They hope that this will set the much-loved Stromness business in good stead for many years to come. 

“I talk to many colleagues south, and it is rare for the younger generation to continue with the family business and many have to close,” says John. 

“It is very reassuring that our 30 years of hard work has paid off.”

Reflecting on 30 years of trading in Stromness, the retiring businessman feels “incredibly lucky” to have been kept “intensely busy” all that time.

Though he adds: “Some mistakes will have been made and for that we apologise.

“We would like to thank the Orkney public for their amazing support over the last 30 years and hope they will continue to support Garry in the same way.

“Sheelagh and I would be delighted if folk would like to pop in over the next few days just for a chat before we go.”