The chief executive of Laings has said organic growth is the focus for the jewellery company now it has integrated the other half of the original family business, which it acquired in September.
The acquisition reunited two halves of a 177 year-old business which was split in 2006 when its owners, brothers Michael and Stuart Laing, went their separate ways.
The acquiring business is owned by Mr Walsh’s wife Wendy, who took over from her father Stuart in 2010 while Michael continued to own Laing The Jeweller and sister company Parkhouse, which had stores in Southampton and Cardiff .
And Mr Walsh has revealed that it was a chance encounter with his uncle at a trade show in Switzerland which led to the re-uniting of the businesses.
“We always had a good relationship, he’s family at the end of the day,” said Mr Walsh. “We then caught up, the conversation evolved from us discussing what we wanted. He went away with an offer [from me] and came back saying there was no better home for his business, it was bringing the family back together.”
The deal was completed in just four months, which Mr Walsh said left lawyers on both sides “flabbergasted”.
What was three businesses, Michael having split his Edinburgh and English stores into new companies, are now one.
In their most recent accounts the separate businesses had a combined revenue of £28 million.
Laing the Jeweller grew sales by 14 per cent to £7.4m in the year to February 29 2016. Parkhouse had revenue of £8.8m over the same period, up 13 per cent.
The acquiring business, Laing the Jeweller (Glasgow), grew revenue by 13.6 per cent to £11.7m in the year to May 31 2016.
Now that Laings is of a size which Mr and Ms Walsh envisaged when they arrived at the helm, there are no current plans to expand that through further deals.
But Mr Walsh compared it to Daniel Craig finishing the press tour for the most recent Bond outing, Spectre, when he said he would not take on the role again.
“And look what’s happening now,” said Mr Walsh, in reference to Craig signing on for another film. “Give it a bit of time and get the right deal on the table, but certainly for now, no.”
He said that the potential for organic growth was significant, now that the five stores had come together.
“If you look short to medium and long term, there are just so many opportunities,” he said. “The short term focus is to get the business on the right footing, to consolidate. That means change, which can either be well-received or resisted. And you’re going to get both. You’re going to get more resistance, particularly with 130 people. That’s going to be our main battle, especially coming up to the key trading period.”
That consolidation has led to the loss of seven jobs because of a duplication of roles when integrating the two companies’ systems, processes and operations.
Looking further ahead, Mr Walsh added: “There are lots of opportunities within our existing cities or going out to acquiring, but it’s very much in the family. We think we can do things better. We have to use technology well to get people in while having the core values of being a family business with exceptional service.”
Jonathan Payne, who worked with Michael Laing and has spent time with Aurum Holdings, is now managing director of the expanded business and will work with Mr Walsh on strategy.
Mr Payne said: “We’ve built a team that saw five years of record growth from revenue and profit. It changed the business in terms of branding, our online presence, how we engage with people on social media and on the front line. An engagement ring shouldn’t be something that you click a link and wait for in the post.
“It’s been an incredible journey and this is the next step in that, bringing the two teams together and maximising our size. We’re pushing £30m in revenue, we’re a really big independent retailer.”
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