Harris & Co are the destination deli at the heart of their community

Being a business owner is like being a swan on a lake, says Harris & Co’s Chris Bain. “It looks really calm and serene, but underneath the legs are going crazy.”

Along with his partner Lynsey Hogg, Chris runs the vibrant wine merchant and deli Harris & Co. Nestled on the high street of Castle Douglas, a picturesque market town in south west Scotland, it’s the go-to destination for local people (and tourists) to pick up something special and delicious. 

This bustling independent shop is our second focus for FreeAgent’s Making It Count interview series. Through Making It Count, we celebrate all the hard graft, adaptability and ingenuity that goes into running a business. Harris & Co are among more than 200,000 businesses who rely on our accounting software to take the stress out of tax, payroll and invoicing… giving them more time to tingle the tastebuds of their community. 

“We’re natural retailers, we’re not natural accountants,” explains Lynsey. “That’s why FreeAgent is great for us. You want it to be very easy. You want it to be really user-friendly. And you want it to be efficient. FreeAgent does all that. It’s doing the work for you.”

Covid challenges and surprise online opportunities

Efficiency and the ability to adapt quickly were key from the very start for Chris and Lynsey. Having moved from Edinburgh to raise their family in Castle Douglas, they opened their own shop in 2020. Named for their little boy, Harris, it is a true family business and was the fulfilment of a mutual dream. Little did they know, the Covid pandemic was right around the corner. 

“We were only open for a few days before we had to close again because of the government guidelines,” remembers Chris. It was a shock. But luckily, as food retailers, they were soon classed as essential and were able to re-open, albeit not exactly as expected. Their original plans to offer a wine cafe were on hold… and they had to get to grips with brand new challenges. 

“We just had to flip on our heads,” says Lynsey, “Suddenly we had to have a website, and do all these things we’d never done in the past. We’ve worked in retail for so many years, but…”

“…e-commerce was completely new to us,” Chris adds. “We have learned as we’ve gone and we’ve picked it up pretty quickly. Lynsey pretty much did the whole of the design for the website, which has worked really well for us.”

The forced pivot had positives. Through their online presence, they now regularly sell to customers in London and the south of England (attracted by their “realistic” pricing for quality wines), as well as former Castle Douglas residents who want to support a local business from their hometown. 

‘People walk around gobsmacked’

Still, the bricks-and-mortar shop remains the heart of the operation. Though in the early days it was just Chris and Lynsey, now they employ three more people to help them look after customers. That face-to-face contact, the ability to find the right wine for each individual, to tell the stories of the products they sell - that’s what really sets Harris & Co apart. That, and the sheer variety of appetising treats on display.

“People do walk around a bit gobsmacked,” laughs Lynsey. “We use the term ‘bountiful’. The shop is filled to the rafters with products you don’t see every day. We’re celebrating artisan products. Whether they’re small-produced, whether they’re local, essentially, they taste good. That’s why we’ve got them on the shelves.”

As well as wines you won’t find in any supermarket, you’ll find luxury products like Fodder and Farm’s “exceptional” kimchi salt or Torres’ fried egg crisps. They’re all flavours picked to surprise and delight. “People are like, ‘fried egg crisps?!’” says Chris, “and then they try them, and they’re like, ‘oh my god, they’re delicious!’”

Since 2002, Castle Douglas has branded itself a ‘Food Town’, in recognition of the array of independent shops on offer. They’re a “close-knit group” says Chris - and he and Lynsey are keen to see those relationships prosper. Harris & Co supply other local businesses with exclusive wines and artisanal products, offer pop-ups, run tasting events every week in the shop - and even put on an annual wine festival in the local town hall. “People travel from all over to come to that,” smiles Chris. “We’ve become a destination, I suppose.”

Beating the squeeze on small businesses

Despite their central place in an area with a well-deserved reputation for culinary excellence, Harris & Co still faces stiff competition from the two large supermarkets on their doorstep. From the cost-of-living crisis to changes in excise duty, the minimum wage and National Insurance, they say the squeeze on smaller businesses is much more challenging than it is on larger businesses.

“All these things are constant challenges,” says Chris. “But I suppose that’s part and parcel of running your own business. You just have to take that on board.”

With both profit margins and time tight, Chris and Lynsey were pleased to find they could access FreeAgent’s powerful accounting software for free with their Royal Bank of Scotland business banking. The software was recommended by their accountants, Bell Ogilvy, and allows them to share account details and work together in real time. “It certainly does help with invoicing, payroll, VAT returns, a lot of that side of things,” Lynsey says.

And the best thing is, less time spent on worrying about their accounts means more for the things that really matter. “A lot of people say, when are you going to open another shop?” says Chris. “But I think we’re going to just do what we do, the best we can do it. That’s going to give us a nice work-life balance. That’s going to give us nice family time. I don’t think we have to stretch ourselves too thinly. 

“It’s a fantastic thing we’re doing, and it’s just about taking it forward, doing it to the best of our ability. And I think that is ample. That’s very, very satisfying.”

Photography: Luigi Di Pasquale