It may have started as a traditional country store, but over the past eight decades Standún has come to mean so much more to the people of Connemara. And so now, as it celebrates the opening of its third store, in Birr, Co Offaly, Cliona Standún feels it has returned to its roots.
“My grandparents had a vision for the store when they opened in 1946 to serve the local community and I feel we have come full circle in some ways,” she says.
Cliona, who took over the management of Standún alongside her sister Laragh in 2010, acknowledges that running a business in the current climate is not easy, but stresses that the importance of small, indigenous businesses has never been more important both in rural Ireland and in cities.
“There’s huge power in collaborating with other businesses to make sure we all succeed; we see them as allies, not competition,” she says. “In my grandparents’ time people had to leave Connemara to find employment, but nowadays people want to live here in Spiddal. They want to be part of the community and enjoy a better quality of life, so creating employment is important to us. Standún is still a social hub in the community.”
RM Block
This vision of Standún being more than a store is embedded into the brand’s DNA – founded as it was by a couple who first met while they were both imprisoned for being sympathetic to the cause of a united Ireland. In the 1930s Mullingar native May Mulready was interned in Mountjoy Prison alongside the sisters of Liverpool man and Gaelic speaker Máirtín Standún, who, at the same time, was interred in the Curragh with May’s brother. On release from prison the couple’s blossoming relationship grew and it was while on a cycling holiday in Connemara that they came across a small drapery shop on the outskirts of Spiddal with a “For Sale” sign outside. And so Standún was born.
“They sold everything the local community needed,” explains Cliona. “They had suits for people going to America; they had petrol pumps outside; they sold ice cream; the family car was also their delivery van and the local hearse – it was a general country store. In the 1970s when my dad took over, he saw the threat coming from multinational supermarkets and the growth in tourism, especially from Americans who wanted to buy an Aran sweater, so he got rid of the grocery side of the business – much to Granny’s disgust.”
For Donal Standún, getting rid of the petrol pumps and the undertaking side of the business was a risk, one that he can now gladly say paid off.
“I changed direction entirely and focused on tourism – both international and Irish – but my daughters have a different business plan; they’ve taken Standún back to its roots, they’re keeping it what it was and serving the local community. I’m thrilled at the way it’s gone.”
“Each generation has faced different challenges,” says Cliona. “We grew up hearing the phrase ‘the first builds it, the second grows it, and the third spends it’ but we won’t let that happen. We’re carrying the torch for the next generation – we want to leave the business in a good place for them.”
With four children between them and three Standún stores to run, the sisters have entered a whole new stage of co-working siblings, explains Cliona, but there’s a safety in working with family that cannot be underestimated.
“When Dad retired and we took over it was great working with my sister because there was an understanding there,” she says. “But I saw her more before we started working together.”
They may live and breathe the family store, but both Cliona and Laragh honed their business skills by working in international retail for a number or years before returning to Connemara, bringing what they learned back to the business and working alongside Donal before he retired.
For both sisters, the biggest focus has to be customer service and a firm belief in the future of retail.
“We pride ourselves on our customer service. The business of retail has changed so much; there’s more and more we have to do. Our online service is the same as our store service; with online, we’re open 24/7, whereas in Dad’s time, he closed on Sundays.
“When we were small we were told that if Dad was talking to a customer we had to leave him be and we learned at an early age that the customer is always right. Standún was always, and still is, focused on the customer. People want to interact. They come to us for customer service and advice and because our team are so friendly. There’s something about people being able to wander around and look at beautiful things; they may not buy today, but they will.”
As Standún – both the business and the family – looks to the next decade, the commitment to quality that marked their first 80 years in business shows no sign of waning.
“It’s important to support Irish brands and makers. We started with Irish brands and local women from across the country knitting our Aran sweaters,” Cliona says. “Our grandparents started with those companies and we’re still working with them today. Our customers are interested to see that our products are made in Ireland; there’s an awareness there of wanting to know where things are made and to support Irish brands.
“We aspire to grow the business and leave it in a better place for the next generation – it’s a huge legacy.”
For more information visit standun.com
