Timothy Elliott, new Director at Dowlers
THE long established hardware/home decor/home store firm of Dowlers, Lisnaskea (and, lately Enniskillen) now has new faces directing operations.
Following the retirement of Stella Graham as a director in May, and the recent retirement of fellow directors, David McMullan and Drew Wigham, the company, which employs 45 staff, is now led by Timothy Ellott of Manor Garden, Lisnaskea fame.
Mr Elliott (52), and his brother, Rodney have bought a controlling interest and, for Timothy, who has been the company accountant, and its first, since 1987, it’s the fulfilment of a lifetime’s ambition.
He spoke this week of has plans to give a much-needed uplift to the various departments within Dowlers, and, indeed, one programme is under way with the refurbishment of the Home Decor Centre.
But, he firstly paid tribute to the three retired directors and explained that their amicable departure followed a year-long process.
So, why the move?
“I took the plunge because I love the place, and it’s nothing to do with me wanting to be the big boss. Rather, it’s to drive the company forward in the direction that I want it to go.”
As the man responsible for introducing a computerised system into Dowlers, it’s perhaps not surprising he will be pushing sales through e-commerce, a trend that has already started and is looking good.
But, all the while, physical changes will be ongoing, the first of which will be the closure of Dowlers Enniskillen home store and the transfer and installation of its modern shelving to the Lisnaskea home store.
“It will be part of a total refurbishment of the showroom and, hopefully, around December time, we will be opening a new cooker display area. After that, there will be a gradual refurbishment of the hardware shop.”
He then referred to the ongoing facelift to the Home Decor shop where business continuing as usual in an adjacent premises owned by the firm.
Readers may be aware that Mr Elliott operates a specialist garden centre, the Manor Garden Centre, at Munville House on the edge of the town where he lives.
That will continue, but he intends retailing various items in main street.
The one aspect of Dowlers that does stand out is its loyalty to staff, and they to the firm.
Mr Elliott, being a staff member himself, is well aware of this.
“Yes, we have long-serving staff. It’s very much a family environment as well as an institution. As to the future, it looks bright. We have to move with the times. We’re developing a substantial online business. That’s where the future lies.”
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