This week the Galway Advertiser got to know Cliona Standun of Standún department store, Spiddal.
What is your job?
I am the managing director of Standún.
How long have you been in the business?
I have been running the business for the past eight years.
What made you choose this field?
I grew up in the business and worked there from a very young age. Although I moved abroad to work for a number of years, I always felt I would move home to take over the business from my dad at some point.
When I was 26, my dad was ready to retire and I moved home to Galway to start running the business.
What advice would you give someone starting out in a retail business?
It is so important to be willing to change to meet customers’ needs. Our business has changed direction a number of times in the past 70 years and we continue to evolve and to grow to ensure our business is sustainable.
Favourite products at the moment?
Soya Concept for affordable and fashionable pieces for AW18. Elie Beaumont watches for their simplicity and variety of colours. Foxford Blankets although we are stocking them for decades, I still appreciate the warmth and softness from the wool and cashmere blend at this time of year.
Best part of the business?
Sourcing new products for the business and hoping that our customers will appreciate them as much as we do.
Who has been your biggest influence in pursuing this career?
I am surrounded by family and friends who are ambitious and encouraging and I feel that this has helped me along the way to give me the confidence to try new things and the support to make them a success.
What is your biggest ambition?
My sister Laragh and I just opened a new shop in Oughterard village in April and we absolutely loved the challenge of it. My ambition is to continue to grow the family business and to hopefully pass it on to a fourth generation
some day.
And biggest ambition outside of business?
I am expecting a baby in January and I hope to be a good mom to him or her.
What is something people don’t know about you?
That I am obsessed with my dog Lucy. Actually, I think everyone knows that.
Finally, what is your favourite saying
or motto?
Whether you think you can, or think you cannot, you are probably right.
