End of an era for McCullagh family business as shop changes hands after 120 years

The local family traded in Plumbridge since the early 1900s, opening their original store right next door to where the store resides today.

This week, Sean McCullagh announced his retirement and handed the keys to the shop to new owner, Aidan Walters.

Sean said: “My great grandfather started our family business and I remember working in the shop from a very young age. I thought I would have a career in joinery but I was well and truly bitten by the retail bug! I took over the shop in 1976 and began trading with Henderson Wholesale as a VG a couple of years later – and I haven’t looked back since!”

In 1991 Sean acquired the site next to the original shop and built his new shop unit which is where they trade from today, with the new, bigger shop providing even more essentials for the local community. The store went from strength to strength and became a ViVO Essentials as it is today.

Sean continued: “As a family, we have invested in the shop to continue to serve the local community and their changing needs over the decades, and my own children cut their teeth on the shop floor too. They went on to pursue other careers, however there’s no denying the values and morals a start in retail gives a person. We’re a close community here in Plumbridge and I’m very proud to have been an essential part of it for so long. I’ll miss our shoppers but know they’ll be in great hands with Aidan who has family in the area too.”

To mark his departure from the store, Sean donated an Automated External Defibrillator to the new owners, providing a potentially lifesaving piece of kit for the local community.

He added: “The shop is the local hub. We need to keep our community safe and having a device such as a defibrillator to hand could save someone’s life. Let’s hope it never needs to be used, but just knowing it is there, is help in itself.”

Aidan Walters, who has bought the store from Sean comes from another strong retail family having traded with BWG under the XL brand in County Donegal. With over 20 years’ experience, ViVO Essentials Plumbridge is his second store.

Aidan continued: “I am from Strabane and my partner is originally from Plumbridge, so we know the locals well and we always loved coming back to her home to visit the village – this opportunity just made sense for us to take. The McCullagh’s have grown a fantastic, trusted and well-known business here and we’re excited to build on that and provide even more for our local shoppers in this store.

“We’ll be giving the shop a small update with some new refrigeration and extended shelving, plus a bit of a new look with imagery both inside and outside to make our mark – and Sean’s defibrillator will be installed outside, available 24/7 should it be needed. I am very excited to put my all into this store and continue to invest to provide the local community with the services, products and support they are looking for in their local shop.”

Sean McCullagh met with representatives from Henderson Group, who own the ViVO brand in Northern Ireland, to mark his successful 30 years of trading with the retailer and wholesaler. Business development manager, Sharon Kernohan presented Mr McCullagh with a plaque to commemorate his success in the village.

Aidan also joined the team for the presentation, marking the handover for this popular Plumbridge store.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you