Enduring family-run Perth fishmongers George Campbell and Sons is this year celebrating its remarkable 150th anniversary.
The successful business’s story started in 1872 when a young man by the name of George Campbell, aged 33, opened his store on the south side of Edinburgh.
His ambition was to create a reputation for providing the finest fresh fish, shellfish and smoked fish in all of Scotland.
In the late 1980s, a branch was opened on the corner of Perth’s South Street and Scott Street, before the Edinburgh shop was then closed in 1990.
In 2005 the fishmongers had moved to industrial units in Whitefriars Street, Perth, covering 8000 square feet, where it remains to this day.
A deli shop was later built on site offering up fresh and smoked fish as well as pies, quiches and soups.
Four generations have carried on George Campbell’s ambitions with great-grandson Iain Campbell (63) and his wife Rachael now running the business as managing directors.
The company now employs 25 staff and has a client list reaching around 300, including small independent restaurants, five-star hotels and schools located as far north as Inverness and as far south as the Scottish Borders.
Iain and his four siblings grew up in West Africa and attended boarding school in England before returning to Scotland as a teenager.
Since 1977 Iain has worked for the business, learning the trade from his father and uncle, and took the helm of managing director 35 years ago.
Looking back over the years he said: “We were in Edinburgh at the time it started and opened shops in Perth and St Andrews in the ‘80s, then we consolidated it all into Perth.
“The old tourist board I think said you could get to 90 per cent of the country in 90 minutes.
“It is a good central point and have eight vehicles out for delivery.
“I am 64 this year and I have been in the business so long it was my very first job!
“I was reading law at Dundee University but was not engaged in it and worked at the business at weekends and holidays and saw it as an opportunity.
“It appealed to me to keep it going into a fourth generation and we have done a lot with it.”
He added: “We still use a lot of fish caught by the Scottish fishing industry.
“We deal with every type of fish you can think of and we buy from Peterhead, Scrabster and Shetland.”
Iain is unsure of the exact date his great-grandfather started his business, and so staff are hosting a celebration throughout 2022.
Mugs, glasses, tops and hats have been designed with a commemorative logo to mark the major milestone.
Iain said the business has been through challenging times over the past 100 years, with the recent impact of Brexit and COVID being felt.
“The shop closed briefly when the first lockdown came but we opened it up again a few weeks after getting it COVID proofed,” he explained.
“The hotels and restaurants were closed and so most of our customers did not need the fish.
“But Perth certainly seems busy now and there are a lot of people about.
“Many are trying to get on with it now and hotels and restaurants seem to all be busy again. We are confident that we will have a good year.”
While retirement is not in sight yet for Iain, he says the presence of fewer specialist fishmongers in Scotland has made the Perth outlet all the more valued.
Iain explained: “Quality and service is the secret. That is what we are all about.
“There are not many traditional fishmongers left, let alone family-run ones.
“We have kept it small. We have long-standing staff who have worked with us for years. That is what has sustained us, and going the extra miles for customers.
“People like dealing with a family business and they appreciate that.
“An adherence to top quality and doing business in a gentlemanly manner with respect for customers, suppliers and staff.
“All these combined make a solid business and that was what was always taught to me and what we try and do now.
“I am very proud of it. It is quite an achievement.”
Iain, who revealed sole as his favourite fish, paid tribute to the staff, customers and suppliers who have made his great-grandfathers vision a reality.
“My thanks to the staff - I could not do it without them,” he said.
“You can’t do it without the people who are willing to get up at 3am on a cold winter’s day and buy fish, cut fish and deliver fish. They are the bedrock of the business.
“Quite a few of the staff have worked 30-plus years here. It is a family here in itself and we are a close-knit group.
“Also the customers and the suppliers, those are the three things you need and you always need to treat them with respect.”
