BIG READ: Raymond Davern says the time is right to retire and sell Cashel store

A well-known Tipperary shop owner who announced his retirement last week has said he is looking forward to travelling and seeing more of the world when he retires.

Raymond Davern from Davern’s in Cashel announced publicly last week that he would retire later this year, bringing an end to 40 years in the retail trade in Cashel.

Speaking to Tipperary Live, Mr Davern said that he enjoyed every bit of serving the people of Cashel and beyond during his time at the helm of Davern’s, but that it was time for someone new to take over.

“We can retire, it’s our decision to say ‘okay, we’ve done our stint’, business is very good, we’re going to sell the business and the premises, and someone else has the opportunity to take on a great business,” Mr Davern explained.

“Three families, three generations, it’s been very profitable, every blip that you could throw at it in Ireland, bank strikes, petrol rationing, mad inflation, high interest rates, 17% or 18%, covid, the bank crash in 2007, you name it, we’ve gone through it, and our business has gone from strength to strength,” he said.

This year marks Davern’s 99th year in business, having been founded by Raymond’s grandmother Mary in 1926.

“The business here is in existence since 1926, so it’s 99 years, three generations. Mary Davern, my grandmother, started it, and then my father took over when his dad passed away. Dad was 16 when he came into the business, and my dad retired when he was 62.

“He was a great inspiration, a great help, and he also gave me great confidence because when he retired he said ‘you have this, you’re well able, if you need any advice or help, just give me a call’,” Raymond said.

“But thankfully I never had to do that, now we always discussed business, ‘how is business, what’s going on’,” Mr Davern said.

Getting to work with his father in the business before his retirement was great experience, according to Raymond.

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“I started work here in 1985, and I’m 40 years working in the shop, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. I worked with my dad for about 10 or 15 years of that time, which was great experience,” he said.

Raymond’s father, Raymond Davern Senior was a man before his time, being one of the first people to travel outside of Ireland and bring new designs back to Cashel.

“Dad would have been one of the first people in Ireland to travel to Germany, France, London, to get the top brands,” Raymond explained.

“So we always had that reputation, Davern’s always had the reputation of having good quality, it might have been a little on the expensive side, but if you paid for it, it lasted.

“I’d have customers come in and kind of tease me, ‘how old do you think this sweater is?’, it could be Paul & Shark or whatever, and it could be 20 years old, and that happens fairly regularly because okay, they might be a little dear at the start to buy, but the quality is there, and it does last”.

“The chat nowadays is about fast fashion and carbon footprint and all that, if you think about it, paying for quality that does last, makes sense, but the initial outlay is obviously a little more”.

Raymond said that in his father’s day, there was a sense of trust with suppliers and in business as you had to order stock ahead of time, and praised his dad for running a sharp business.

“You had to sign contracts, you were buying six months ahead, you bought stock, you didn’t see it for six months, it’s a business you have to be really sharp at, but it’s like every business, you have to roll up your sleeves and get on with it.

“Currently we’re open seven days a week, we open Sundays as well, and we work hard at our business and thankfully it’s borne a great return for us over the years,” Mr Davern said.

Despite businesses across the country facing huge challenges at present, Raymond said that last December was a huge month for them.

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“Last December, and for every retailer December is make or break month in the year, and we had double digit growth in December,” he said.

“Cashel is a good business town, Tipperary is a good county, good land, good hinterland, and there’s a couple of worrying little things out there with Mr Trump in America, but the American multinationals in Ireland are still doing very well, so hopefully that will continue. There’s good employment, for anyone that was in Ireland in the 80s like me, the contrast to now, and I don’t want to sound like I walked to school in my bare feet, I didn’t, but the job market is easier,” he quipped.

“Work is work, that hasn’t changed for anyone, and you still have to work hard to get on in anything in life, but jobs are easier come by. I came from a family of seven, and three of us remained in Ireland,” Raymond said.

“One is in Australia, one is in America, one in England and one went to Qatar, that would’ve been normal, we’re no different to anyone else, but nowadays I think it’s lovely, I think young people travel the world to see it, and then come back, but they’re able to work and it’s lovely to see,” he said.

Mr Davern said that 40 years in business has taught him a lot, including not to panic when faced with an uncertain business landscape.

“I remember my daughter ringing me in panic, she worked for a company called State Street, and she was in finance … and I can remember her ringing when covid first hit and saying ‘Dad, the markets are collapsing’ and being in business a long time, I said ‘Aisling, take a couple of deep breaths, get out of the office, go for a walk, the world is not going to come to an end, the Fed in America is going to prop up the system, it has to.’

"So I said, ‘when you can’t see a solution to what’s happening in front of you’, because everyone was panicking, just sit calmly and wait until tomorrow, because a solution will be presented,” Mr Davern recalled.

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“So I was right, and that comes with experience, and the same here, when we had to close the shop, the shop was full of stock, and more stock ordered because we ordered six months ahead, the thing is not to panic, we will get back open at some stage. The stock is good, we will sell it. Customers will get married, there will be weddings, trade goes on.

“People have been trading for thousands of years and when we retire, someone else will take up the challenge of trading in this premises,” Raymond said.

Paying tribute to his staff down the years, Mr Davern said that without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.

“A lot of my older staff that have been with me a long time retired in December, my staff have known this was our plan for the last year and they all have their own plans in life, and I have terrific staff, I couldn’t run the business without them,” he said.

“Our time is up, and they wish us well thankfully”.

“My wife is working 44 years, I'm working 40, I don’t think it’s unreasonable,” he said.

“I’ve four children, but none of them are interested in the business, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect people to work longer than that,” Mr Davern said.

“I have to compliment my children for being honest and saying 'Dad, we’ve our own careers, thanks very much’,” he said.
When asked what he will miss the most when he retires, Raymond said that it will be the customers and the chats that he will miss most.

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“Meeting people, chatting to people, when you meet a lot of people, you get a lot of different perspectives.

“We all formulate ideas because of where we grew up or what’s around us, but Ireland is such a diverse country now, and with the Cashel Palace we have so many different visitors and you get different perspectives on everything, and that's a great way.

“Every day is completely different, you meet people from Armagh, Derry, all over the country, and it’s lovely to do that, it’s lovely to see, we all have the same little problems, which is nice to see that you’re not the only one, and some of it is a totally new perspective and a new way to look at things, and see things, and I find that fantastic”.

“The customers I’ll miss most, I really do enjoy the interaction with the customers, and I’d like to extend my gratitude and thanks to them over the years, with some of them coming in three generations.

“When I went on radio last week, there was a couple in Galway walking the promenade in Salthill, they were listening to it, and they got into the car and drove three hours just to shop with us,” Raymond said.

“The gentleman had retired three years before, and the story just resonated with him, he can remember struggling with the decision to retire and sell his business, and he just resonated with it.

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“There’s hundreds of people all over the country who are getting to that stage, where they’ve worked hard and they want to retire, and the next generation will come and take up the challenge. That’s always happened,” he said.

Raymond said that when he retires, he plans to spend his time travelling.

“A challenge for me is that I would love to visit the 32 counties of Ireland, I haven’t seen a lot of my own country, and I’m not overly religious, but I’d love to do the Camino Way,” Raymond said.

“Cashel is a great town, we’ve a great business, someone else will take up the challenge,” Mr Davern said.

“I’m up in my stock room and I'm looking out onto the Main Street and I can see the Kilkenny Shop opposite, I’m seeing Mikey Ryan’s, I’m seeing Rossa Pottery, Kennedy’s Pharmacy, all right across the road, all opening their doors and starting a positive day and good news stories don’t often make the headlines, so I’d like a good news story to make the headlines, and I’d like people to see there are challenges out there, but there are the silent majority of very good businesses,” he concluded.