Highland business celebrates 150 years with acquisition

A north of Scotland office supplier is celebrating 150 years of serving customers across the region.

James Dow Office Supplies has been helping businesses and organisations with all their stationery needs, plus more, and is proud to now have expanded its services.

The business recently acquired The Stationery Stop in Invergordon, making this its second acquisition in the last couple of years, after taking on Moray Office Supplies.

Speaking about the significance of marking 150 years in business, managing director Andrew Still said: “It’s a landmark for us. There have been some difficult years recently, during Covid, and offices often being empty, so it’s great to be able to have that behind us and celebrate what we have achieved.

“There can’t be many businesses in the Highlands to reach this milestone, so I’m proud to be a part of that.

“It’s great that we’ve been able to keep serving the Highlands for that length of time, during a time when the landscape has changed hugely.”

With the age of the internet and Covid, the business has faced several challenges, so to achieve 150 years is a momentous occasion for the loyal and valued team – past and present.

By joining forces with the other businesses in the area, Andrew is confident that the brand will continue for generations to come.

Speaking about what led to the acquisition of The Stationery Stop, Andrew said: “The Stationery Stop was put on the market last summer and has been successfully run for 11 years by Alison Cormack and Fiona Duff.

“Fiona wanted to retire, so they put the business up for sale. Alison was willing to stay on with the business, so that continuity was a big factor in us becoming involved.

“Their driver Graham is staying on with the business as well.

“About two months before we took over The Stationery Stop, we employed Chloe George through James Dow, who has been trained up under Fiona to make the transition as seamless as possible.”

He added: “I think teaming up with these other local businesses, must only make us stronger. Before we were in competition, so there will be a huge benefit in us joining forces. We can rationalise our deliveries, by area, and lower our carbon footprint.”

James Dow Office Supplies is also offering out-of-the-box solutions for businesses across the area and is proud to provide its space planning services.

Speaking about this offering, Andrew explained: “I was an architect before coming to James Dow, so we offer people space planning solutions across Scotland.

“If someone is looking to fit out an office, whether that be at home or in a larger building, we can provide 2D drawings, helping them visualise the end result and then deliver and install furniture.

“People often move into an office space, in a hurry to get in and trading – we think it can help to have a fresh pair of eyes to look at how the space can be designed to work most efficiently.

“We’ve had businesses come to us who thought they were going to have to move offices as they had run out of space, but we were able to prove to them that they had room for expansion.

“We think this service sets us apart from our competitors as it’s very beneficial to our customers.

The service has been available to customers of James Dow and Moray Office Supplies and we will be introducing it to our customers of The Stationery Stop in Invergordon.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.