Catherine Edley [00:00:00]:
Today on the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I’m joined by Petrina Reddy, a former client and the founder of Saints at Sea, an interior design studio and growing retail chain based on the Portuguese coastline. From opening her first shop in Erica to now running four stores, alongside her design work, Petrine shares how she’s balancing creativity with the realities of growth and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan. I’m Catherine Edley and in the next few minutes, you’re about to get powerful real world retail strategies from insights shared both from my guests and myself, backed up by my 25 years in the retail industry. Keep listening to learn how to grow a thriving, profitable product business. Let’s jump in with this latest episode. So, Katrina, let’s kick us off by talking about the highlights. What’s something that you’ve been really proud of as a business owner in the last year?

Petrina Reddy [00:00:53]:
I think in the last year, just learning how to grow the business itself within constraints and understanding how I can do this without a large funding background, for sure.

Catherine Edley [00:01:06]:
Yeah. And you’ve opened a couple of new locations.

Petrina Reddy [00:01:09]:
We started with one store in a tiny location in Ericara, Portugal, and now we’ve grown to four stores and I guess we’re still looking for more places to explore by the coastline. But I think for now we’re just really grateful that we see some returns and there’s also significant growth as you and I made some plans together, which I’m really blown away by because you just by looking at our numbers and our products and under. You really understand the duality of my business. Because on one section, I have the whole interior design studio running simultaneously with four retail stores. And you’ve really managed to help me hone in on not only expanding, but also reaching some of these targets and setting goals. And we’ve actually reached that and we’re still maybe by the end of the year might surpass those targets.

Catherine Edley [00:02:13]:
Amazing. Yeah, it’s fantastic. So let’s talk about this then. So you joined retail by design. What was going on in your business before you joined? What were some of the challenges of frustrations that you were facing day to day?

Petrina Reddy [00:02:25]:
I knew I had the skeletal bone structure of the whole business, but just could not make connections. So in my mind, it just felt like everything was swirling around and I could not anchor not just the concept, but just anchor the business itself so that I could better explore what was necessary to grow or to have better profits, which is something you helped me look at. I was Just swirling around. And I really needed some grounding, and that’s what you gave me.

Catherine Edley [00:02:58]:
I think that so many people will really relate to this, that. Because, you know, not only do you have the. Effectively the two businesses, the interior design and then the retail, and then multiple retail outlets, but I’m sure like many, many small business owners, you felt that being pulled in lots of different directions. Is that fair to say?

Petrina Reddy [00:03:18]:
Completely. Like, you wear so many different hats. At the end of the day, it’s either putting out fires, constantly finding solutions, which is fine because for me, as a designer, that is part of what we do. That’s generally what I’m comfortable with. But then trying to go beyond that, trying to expand and grow and make sense of all these numbers and understand the whole ordering system for four shops on top of interior design projects, that was definitely out of my hands.

Catherine Edley [00:03:53]:
And I think that that’s the thing, isn’t it? If your time is spent kind of putting out the fires, it’s so hard, I think, sometimes to see the big picture, to be able to pull back and see the bird’s eye view and say, right, this is the direction that we’re going in.

Petrina Reddy [00:04:07]:
Yeah, definitely. Because you’re so. You’ve got blinders on, just kind of heading in one direction when, you know, when you still have a lot of other things to solve. On top of that, there’s also people, management involved, not just your own personnel, but also clients. And it’s overwhelming, you know, to try and find a way to do all of this by yourself.

Catherine Edley [00:04:32]:
Yes.

Petrina Reddy [00:04:33]:
And on top of that, trusting that you’ve given enough support to your team that they can help you with all those little issues.

Catherine Edley [00:04:42]:
Yes. And also in your case, standardizing things across the stores as well.

Petrina Reddy [00:04:46]:
Oh, my God. Yeah, that’s still a challenge, you know, trying to get everyone in uniforms or to. I mean, we like to light incense on a daily basis just to. It’s part of our whole culture in the company. And these things, you know, even the right music playing or re hanging the clothes on the rack, where it’s like not mixed up with colors and patterns all at once. You know what I’m talking about?

Catherine Edley [00:05:13]:
Absolutely. And all of those things that, you know, if something grows up organically, it starts off in a way. Like, then as you replicate things across multiple stores, it’s not just organic anymore. You have to start putting that process in.

Petrina Reddy [00:05:24]:
I think that’s where you stepped in, because I have this issue with replication also. I was designing bars and restaurants and clubs and a big part of it was this big franchise business that the company had procured. It’s all about replication and it just kills a lot of my design instincts and my design spirit.

Catherine Edley [00:05:47]:
Yes.

Petrina Reddy [00:05:48]:
So in my stores, what I was doing is each one had its own focus, which then helps me understand what the needs are. But when it comes to replicating processes and the functionality and the day to day business. Yeah, I really needed you, you know.

Catherine Edley [00:06:06]:
Yeah. It’s so true. You don’t want it to feel like a carbon copy. But also if you’ve got four stores and they’re all doing things very differently, it can feel really overwhelming and to just add to that feeling of overwhelm, that being pulled in lots of directions.

Petrina Reddy [00:06:20]:
So you got that. And that really helped me put things into perspective.

Catherine Edley [00:06:27]:
Tell us a little bit about maybe light bulb moments or a big shift that you, you made because of the program.

Petrina Reddy [00:06:34]:
Oh, that’s easy. It’s. You can do this.

Catherine Edley [00:06:39]:
Yeah.

Petrina Reddy [00:06:40]:
The big light bulb moment is understanding from your perspective that there was room just within each store for growth and that I could squeeze it to its maximum capacity if I focused on ordering right and getting products in, in time and just chasing and following up on certain things that would help the employees on the floor to be able to make those sales. So those were light bulb moments because I thought this is it and this is how it works. And that’s as far as it goes, you know. And when it comes to the interior design studio, just after conversations with you and for me trying to identify that, for the longest time I kept thinking they were two separated entities and it would be easier to just have them not involve each other. But you highlighted that look. They live off each other and that was definitely a light bulb moment too. And then I stress less about having to define each business and there’s far better flow in terms of employee work processes and also how the clients now just meander into the shop and they tend to pick up more things, although they already have products in their houses.

Catherine Edley [00:08:04]:
Your shops are just so beautiful and you can really see the design that runs through all of them. And it doesn’t surprise me that the people that you’ve designed homes for, it’s like that visual identity for the whole business. The design work that you do and the stores, they all exist in the same aesthetic. So it makes sense that someone who has had their home designed with then the things in the shop would feel like a natural fit. But I think it feels like an ecosystem rather than two completely separate things.

Petrina Reddy [00:08:36]:
Exactly. That’s what you helped Me see, you know, and like you said, when you’re in the thick of it and you’re just putting out fires or trying to keep your head above water, I could not really identify in that way. That’s definitely a light bulb moment, too. And we are reworking on our website in order to then make it simpler for people to understand. Also, virtually, we do have this interior design section and we have the shop section, but they’re all in one big giant umbrella.

Catherine Edley [00:09:10]:
You. You’ve created a world, and within that world, you can buy items to make your home be part of that world, or you can have your whole home designed to be part of that world. What’s a tangible win? Maybe something to do with sales, with the. With retail, or maybe a personal breakthrough from your time in the program.

Petrina Reddy [00:09:31]:
Now that we’ve. I don’t know how long ago it was, but since we started together on this whole kind of trip, you’ve helped me highlight certain goals, and also you helped me identify how much I would need to allocate in order to gain certain amounts of sales, which I never before because it was just kind of ad hoc, doing as you go. And with some planning, we’ve really managed to reach the targets that you were talking about. That’s definitely a big win because I thought, like, yeah, okay, well, we’ll get there someday. I didn’t think we’d get there in six months.

Catherine Edley [00:10:12]:
Yeah, that’s fantastic. Of course, the business is so seasonal. You have your peak summer season.

Petrina Reddy [00:10:18]:
Yeah.

Catherine Edley [00:10:18]:
So it was also partly about getting ready for that peak. Right. Being ready to go.

Petrina Reddy [00:10:24]:
Yeah. It felt like you were packing up your whole house ready to get on a flight, you know, and you don’t know when you’re returning. It’s one of those kind of experiences. What happened was during this planning process, and for us, the season runs kind of from April, mainly May is when it starts to end of October. And we’re starting to trickle off now just trying to gear up for such a short time period, knowing that, okay, you have to start saving for winter and that it is seasonal and we cater a lot to travelers. I wouldn’t certainly say tourists, because the people that we attract, they tend to come back and visit us again on their journey. And we’ve also had people that have traveled through Portugal and they tell us, oh, we were at your shop up in Porto, and then we going to Concarge now, and we’re becoming a bit of a road trip too, you know, so planning ahead has been brilliant.

Catherine Edley [00:11:33]:
What advice would you give to someone who’s listening to the podcast, who’d like to grow, or maybe they’ve got bricks and mortar and they’d like to expand.

Petrina Reddy [00:11:40]:
You know what I realized that I lost until I came to you was my inner voice. I was really doubting that a lot because of everything swirling about just putting out fires. Definitely try to grow that and nurture your inner voice and not lose that or your gut instinct or your special box of treasures. You know, I think you need to ground that and to keep your energy centered in order to face the challenges that will come.

Catherine Edley [00:12:15]:
That’s the thing, isn’t it? You know, your business, if you’re a bricks and mortar store or if you’re a brand, if you’re creating products as well, then it’s about understanding what the customer wants almost first and foremost. But it’s also about your vision, right? Because you have to lead the customer and say, look, this is what I believe you should want or you will want. So if you lose that connection to your intuition, I guess, quite quickly, does it feel like a bit lost? Like, well, what am I selling? Like, what is the point of view? It needs to have a point of view, right?

Petrina Reddy [00:12:46]:
Completely. It needs the point of view. It needs that story as to where it all came from. We do make our own products, so that’s the whole planning ahead. And we’re gonna start to make more products this coming year because we know we can if we’re organized and have the funds set aside to do so. But definitely on top of nurturing and keeping hold tight of your instincts and your inner voice, you need to be ready to go on this long, long journey. You’ll have many tangents that you might go off on, but you need to stick to that road. You have to have this sense of determination to want to get to the end of this whole road or to actually enjoy the journey that you’re on, because, I mean, no one’s going to hold your hand and tell you, like, oh, you’re doing great.

Petrina Reddy [00:13:44]:
It’s awesome. It’s fantastic. You need to be your own cheerleader. And I think these are the tools that you have to know from the start that you’re going to need and then keep going. You can’t stop.

Catherine Edley [00:14:00]:
Yeah, you have to be somewhat relentless, right?

Petrina Reddy [00:14:03]:
Exactly. That’s a good word for it.

Catherine Edley [00:14:07]:
And that can be hard to do. I mean, it’s. It’s one of those things that’s easier said than done. Right. Because if you do start losing that confidence, and then you also have to have that determination. It’s hard to. To have determination when you don’t have confidence.

Petrina Reddy [00:14:18]:
I suppose it does weigh down on you throughout this whole process in your mind. If you can keep this idea of where you’re headed and that there is no limit to how long it’s going to take or how far it’s going to go, and that you’re in for the whole ride.

Catherine Edley [00:14:38]:
And just be prepared.

Petrina Reddy [00:14:39]:
For that, I think that will get you far, maybe.

Catherine Edley [00:14:45]:
So then, what is next? What are you excited about coming up for the business?

Petrina Reddy [00:14:49]:
I mean, there’s always the opportunity to open a store in Lisbon or one down south in Algarve, where it’s bright and sunny all the time. But I would maybe want to focus into having people be able to experience our retail, our design, so maybe a space that they can rent and experience our lifestyle. Short period of time, slow living in Portugal experiences, maybe.

Catherine Edley [00:15:18]:
Sounds fantastic. So like a holiday space.

Petrina Reddy [00:15:22]:
Yeah, I guess a holiday rental. And at the same time, for the year ahead, I’m working on a cultural design focused book that we can then sell in our shops because we see that it’s something that’s missing, identifying with the culture that we’re in here. Not many books written yet about Portugal in general. We can sell to clients where they would want to take it back with them. So that’s what we’re working on right now. They’re all designed by us here in Portugal, but we do work with a lot of Portuguese artisans and makers that also have their own brands, but all Portuguese based. We do come together. We have workshops also on Saturdays at the shop, highlighting the local potters.

Petrina Reddy [00:16:11]:
So. So we do have plate painting workshops or tile painting workshops with different potters. And we also have low intervention wine sessions on Saturdays, Portuguese wines and vineyards. So we are quite immersed in the culture in a way, and we would like to be able to put that into a book and share that with people.

Catherine Edley [00:16:36]:
And final question then. If I gave you a thousand euros to spend on making your business more resilient, what would you spend it on and why?

Petrina Reddy [00:16:45]:
Well, we do have to shop in Cascais, which is right by the marina. I would pack up my whole team, walk down to the marina, rent a sailboat and go out for the afternoon, have some Portuguese bubbly and oysters and have a little session and a picnic on a boat. Because without a team, where am I and where is all of this? You know, they really support and believe in what we do and it carries us on and forward.

Catherine Edley [00:17:20]:
That is such a really, really Great point. Yeah. It’s about creating that team bond through a special event. Like a picnic on a boat.

Petrina Reddy [00:17:28]:
Exactly. Resilient retailers.

Catherine Edley [00:17:33]:
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. And do you want to tell everyone where they can find you in your four locations in Portugal?

Petrina Reddy [00:17:41]:
First of all, you can find us online with our website, Saints at Sea, on Instagram. We’ve got a shop up in Porto, as we are in the middle, close to Lisbon. We’ve got two shops here in Ericeira and one closer to Lisbon in Cascais, so we’re generally by the waterside side.

Catherine Edley [00:18:02]:
Amazing. Fantastic. And we’ll put all those links into the show notes and people can check you out.

Petrina Reddy [00:18:07]:
Thanks. It’s been a wonderful journey with you, exploring and understanding what I’m doing. Better. Like, without your support, I’d feel still swirling in that tornado.

Catherine Edley [00:18:18]:
I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Petrina. I loved working with her and helping her build her thriving chain of shops in beautiful coastal Portugal. You can find Saints at Sea online and on Instagram. Check out the show notes for the links. Thanks again for listening. And don’t forget to, like, subscribe or follow the podcast to be the first to know about each new episode.