BY KIRSTY WATT
After 38 years serving the Uist community, the Hogg family have put their two Lovats supermarkets up for sale ahead of a well-earned retirement.
The shops, located in Carnan, South Uist, and Balivanich, Benbecula, currently offer vital postal services including banking and trade under the Nisa brand, stocking goods supplied from Co-op group and other independent retailers.
Billy and Dolly Hogg, and their daughter Donna, told the Free Press: “Sharing our journey with our fellow islanders, customers, tourists and staff has been full of highs, lows, hard graft, laughter and tears and has been worth every minute.
“We have never been just another shop, we have always been the hub of the communities, sharing the joy of births and marriages to the sorrow of deaths and tragedies. [We have given] what we can back to the communities through donations and support and [have been] supporting all the other local independent businesses [by] stocking local produce – working together to keep our communities thriving.”
The decision to sell comes as Billy and Dolly prepare to retire and Donna transitions to work full time making bespoke heritage kilts in Eochar, South Uist.
The Hogg family said: “Since the sale was officially announced last week, it has made us quite emotional but excited too, and we can’t wait to see what ideas and changes will happen once we hand over the keys. Until that day – which could be tomorrow or even next year – we will carry on as normal.
“To all our customers, staff, suppliers and haulage staff – past and present – we thank you for every memory created and your service, support, loyalty and kind words throughout the years.”
The supermarkets are on the market for £840,000 and advertise an annual net turnover in excess of £1.5 million. The selling agent, Cornerstone Business Agents, have suggested there is also room for expansion with the introduction of hot food counters or a café.
The Post Office banking service the shops currently offer is vital to the Uist and Benbecula communities who are facing the possible closure of the Bank of Scotland’s Balivanich branch, which would leave them with only one bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland in Lochboisdale, open 3 days a week.
Following the Hogg family’s announcement of the sale, some community members fear the possibility of a further reduction in banking services available on the islands as future owners may decide to discontinue the current service.
Councillor Paul Steele, Leader of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, told the Free Press: “The news about the proposed closure of the Bank of Scotland branch in Balivanich has raised some serious concerns in the community, not least the reliance on the Post Office branches for supporting banking services.
“I have no doubt that there will be a lot of interest in the well run Lovats stores, including their Post Office branches, that have come up for sale, there’s an excellent opportunity for someone to take them on, but it highlights the fragility and lack of understanding of the island context behind the Bank’s decision to close the branch.”
