Building an 80-Year Product Business: Lessons from a Fourth-Generation Family Brand

This week I’m joined by Holly Stafford-Smith from GH Stafford & Son Ltd, a fourth-generation family business that has been supplying leather goods and accessories across the UK for almost 80 years.

In this episode, Holly shares the story of how the business evolved from manufacturing leather goods in post-war Walsall to becoming a long-established wholesale supplier working with retailers and wholesalers across the UK and Ireland.

We talk about what it’s really like working in a family business, balancing tradition with modernisation, navigating generational differences, evolving a product range over time, and why focusing on product quality has helped the business continue to grow after all these years.

There’s also a really honest conversation about the realities of family business life, the challenges, the opportunities, and the deep care that comes with building something across generations.

Whether you run a product-based business yourself or are interested in how long-standing businesses continue to adapt and evolve, there’s so much insight in this episode.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Holly Stafford-Smith and GH Stafford & Son Ltd

01:31 The story behind the family business founded in 1947

03:17 How the business has stayed relevant for nearly 80 years

05:49 Modernising a long-established wholesale business

07:24 Selling through retailers and wholesalers across the UK

09:09 Why the business has stayed B2B only

11:05 How the product range has evolved over the years

13:44 Using customer feedback to shape products

16:44 Growing up in a family business

19:40 Working across different roles in the business

20:43 Navigating family dynamics and generational differences