Chrysties has been a much-loved family firm in Hawick for the past three decades. The coronavirus lockdown measures forced the family firm, which is in the running for a Scottish Business Award, to close its doors as owners got ready to mark the milestone birthday.

The funding from RBS allowed the company to retain all 26 staff members, who had been placed on the Government’s furlough initiative, and prepare for a swift return to trading.

Earlier this month, Chrysties fully reopened to the public following an inspection by Trading Standards Scotland. To ensure staff and customer safety, the business sourced personal protective equipment (PPE) from a local manufacturer, invested in staff training on safety measures being put in place, and introduced sanitisation stations throughout the store. However, plans to celebrate the milestone anniversary of the business have been postponed until next year.

Bob Chrystie, founder of Chrysties Furnishing Centre, said: “We’ve always been a bricks and mortar facility – it’s so important for our customers to come and see things in person and you can’t really replicate that online. It was tough to close up for the past few months – it must have been the first time I had a Saturday off in decades!

“We’re happy to have been able to reopen so quickly. The funding process with Royal Bank of Scotland was seamless, and everything was wrapped up in a matter of days. Their support was vital in helping us to keep local jobs safe, and also helped to fund purchase of PPE equipment we required to resume trading.”

Kenny White, commercial relationship manager at Royal Bank of Scotland, added: “We’ve been with Chrysties since the very beginning, and it’s been great to help them grow from strength to strength over the years. Here’s to the next 30 years of success.”

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