Lori McGaffney ditched a secure career in financial services to open her Evalucia womenswear boutique in 2009. Thirteen years on, opening a second shop in her hometown of Perth, Scotland – this time selling children's shoes – her confidence in the future is clear.
In the face of shop closures and the cost of living crisis, the customer-focused Evalucia clothing store in central Scotland’s Perth is thriving. It is growing in fact, with the recent launch of a new children's shoe shop around the corner, further boosting the city’s local economy and independent retail offering.
Founder and owner Lori McGaffney selects womenswear, footwear and lifestyle products for her neat, colourful store that are carefully curated to her customers, informed by 13 years in business.
Named after her daughter, Evalucia began as a footwear and accessories shop in 2009, on Scott Street in central Perth, funded by savings, a bank loan and a £5,000 grant from The Prince’s Trust that was available for new young business owners.
Within a year McGaffney realised her concept was wrong: “It soon became obvious women’s footwear was not a winning formula. Sales were slightly slower than I had anticipated.
"So few independent shoe shops have survived for several reasons. First, shoes have to fit. If they don’t, you don’t get the sale. Clothes can be tweaked to fit – we use a local dressmaker around the corner for our alterations.
“Additionally, footwear suppliers insist you buy pack sizes, including sizes you might not want. Finally, the margins on shoes are lower than on fashion.
“I could see the benefit of diversifying into a complementary area. As we did not have much in the way of small shops offering anything for a younger shopper in Perth, I switched to selling dressy occasionwear, buying little and often, almost like a fast-fashion model. A typical retail price for me then was £65-£85 for a dress.”
Today, brands include Ichi, with entry price jeans from £45 for retail, Mos Mosh denims from £129, Hope & Ivy starting at £85, new French arrival Fabienne Chapot from £200, and dresses from Sirens London for £260.
I was good at figures, I passed all my exams and I loved the customer service side of helping people with financial planning
Footwear, accounting for 5% of total sales, is served by Spanish vegan brand Refresh, retailing at around £50 for strappy heels, Shoe the Bear, with sandals around £80 and Victoria trainers at £89-£95. Lack of stockroom space prevents a further push on shoes.
Connock London’s home and body fragrances are steady sellers. The £35 scented candles are particularly strong.
McGaffney is well placed to curate her store to the local community, being a central figure within it. Elected in November 2021, she is the first female president of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce in its 150-year history and has led the 400-strong business organisation for two years – in recognition of the role Evalucia plays in the local economy.
“I have been involved since 2017. We include all sorts of businesses from independent retailers to law firms to [transport company] Stagecoach. It’s a great way to plug into business support, and have a voice in local and national government,” says McGaffney.
She comes from a retailing family. Her great grandmother ran Tylers, one of Perth’s main footwear shops long before McGaffney was born, while her mother, Lynne Smith, is a partner in the city’s Lorna Davies Florist.
Despite being a fashion fan since her teenage years, McGaffney did not initially follow this family tradition and, slightly to her surprise, ended up working for the Alliance & Leicester building society.
“I was good at figures, I passed all my exams and I loved the customer service side of helping people with financial planning. But it wasn’t for me. At the age of 26, with a three-year-old daughter to consider, I needed to reboot my life, so I left my job, split from my partner and opened my first shop in October 2009, in the middle of a global financial crisis [which started in 2008],” she recalls with a smile.
With her commitment to service winning over customers, she soon outgrew the 600 sq ft unit but a 10-year lease meant she was unable to move a short distance to her current 800 sq ft space on High Street until August 2019. When she did, the narrow shop was fitted out with perimeter rails, a central hanging unit and three changing rooms at the rear.
With a population of just over 47,000, Perth has a lively independent scene, especially for food and lifestyle shops, but the large empty buildings once occupied by local department store Beales (formally McEwans) and Debenhams, which closed in 2020 and 2021 respectively, and others, are a reminder of how tough retailing has become.
McGaffney has survived and thrived by adapting. “When I opened in 2009 there was very much a going-out culture around and my buying reflected that. Over the years customers’ behaviour has changed, the market has changed and my own tastes have changed as I’ve grown older. Evalucia today is right for me and for my customers, who are aged 35-plus.”
Local tourism material promotes Perth as “Small City. Big Personality”, and that sentiment applies well to Evalucia.
The offer is kept simple and commercial, split between everyday fashion and versatile contemporary occasionwear, suitable for weddings, parties and going to the races. Currently, occasionwear accounts for 60% of sales, with everyday fashion bringing in 40%.
McGaffney follows a traditional forward-order buying schedule. She is in London twice a year, cramming lots of showroom appointments into a three-day visit, and in the past she has visited Scoop and Pure, and Who’s Next in Paris.
Assisting with the buying is her right-hand woman and store manager Sonia Hall, a one-time customer who joined the business in 2018. Also on the team is Eva Hall, who arrived in 2021 as a digital marketing apprentice and is kept busy creating the regular posts on Facebook (5,700 followers) and Instagram (2,300 followers).
“One of Evalucia’s main strengths is the very strong relationship within our team,” says McGaffney. “We all put the customers’ needs first, from buying to serving them in the shop or online.”
She realised it would be difficult to recreate the Evalucia experience in a second branch, so to grow her business in March this year she opened children's footwear and clothes shop Petit Pas (meaning “little step”) literally around the corner on Scott Street.
It is managed by Mags Ash, who worked in Evalucia from 2018, assisted by part-timer Lucile Mazeaud, who splits her 30 hours a week between the two units.
“After getting married to my husband Martin in April 2016 we have a three-year-old son, Luke, so I know how important it is to get good shoes for children. People, I believe, will pay for well-fitting shoes.” Petit Pas stocks trusted brands such as Ecco, Geox, Primigi and Ricosta, priced at around £45.
Evalucia has had a transactional website powered by Shopify since 2014, and has been part of the Atterley independent boutiques platform since spring 2020. During Covid online sales rocketed from 5% to 50% of sales and have now settled at 15%-20%. Having come through this period in good shape, how does McGaffney view the immediate future?
“I am happy to sell online but customers do not get the personal relationship they get by coming into the shop,” she says. “Perth is a typical burgh market town. There is a lot of poverty here but money, too, and, looking at the wider Perth and Kinross region generally, a lot of wealth. As one of the few independent fashion options in the town, I am confident we can keep growing steadily.”
Address: 217 High Street, Perth PH2 8PB
About 800 sq ft selling space
Brands include Anonyme, French Connection, Fabienne Chapot, Hope & Ivy, Ichi, Kanna, Mos Mosh, Olia, Part Two, Sirens London, Stardust, Traffic People. For footwear: Refresh, Shoe The Bear, Victoria.
Staff: Two full-time, one part-time
Open: Mon-Fri 10-5. Sat 9.30-5.30
Which brand are you currently most excited about and why?
I would not single any one out but I’m excited to see our customers’ reaction to lower RRPs on French Connection when the cost of most brands is rising.
Where do you like to shop?
I love shopping for wine so if I spot a small wine merchant or a deli I’m instantly drawn in.
Who in the industry inspires you?
My lovely, bubbly friend Taisir Gibreel, who works for [lifestyle retailer] Restoration Yard in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh. She’s fantastic to chew the fat with on all things business and buying.
Tags Inspiring Independents retail Scotland Shoes womenswear
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