Seafood Centre lands a rich harvest by popularising fish

By Judy Murphy

If there’s one maxim that sums up Noel Holland’s approach to business it’s ‘think of the customer’. And as Galway Bay Seafoods, which is owned by the Holland family, celebrates its 60th anniversary, it’s a maxim that’s serving them well.

Their Seafood Centre on the New Docks contains everything that’s required to make a seafood dinner – obviously there’s a wide range of fish, but there are also recipes, all manner of seasonings, an extensive range of wine and fresh herbs. And if you don’t feel like cooking, there is a range of ready-made seafood meals, prepared on site.

Little wonder that the inaugural BIM Seafood Circle, Seafood Specialist of the Year was awarded to the Seafood Centre this year.“We are retailers by nature and it doesn’t matter whether it’s fish or other commodities, serving the customer is second nature,” says Noel, whose late father, John Holland, set up a shop in 1950 on Shop Street which marked the beginning of the current success story.

Noel’s relations Brendan and Pat have shops in Galway and Oughterard respectively, so retailing is undoubtedly in the blood. John Holland started off selling fruit and vegetables in his city centre shop, which was located beside O’Brien’s newsagents. The business grew with the town and in 1970 John moved the wholesale end of the operation to the Docks, taking over an old BIM Seafood plant, while keeping the retail end of the operation on Shop St.

Eventually, 18 years ago, the entire operation was moved to the Docks, with a small factory shop comprising part of the business. Five years ago Noel and his brother John, who jointly run the company, decided to redevelop Galway Bay Seafood with a view to focusing on retail customers.

They had a healthy wholesale operation, but felt that to advance the business, they needed to get the raw product directly to the customer. “We have done that spectacularly in the past three or four years,” says Noel, explaining that they grew the retail aspect of their operations by 130 per cent in two years.

As they focused on changing the business they put a quality management system in place, with the emphasis on customer satisfaction.

“We control suppliers and vet them and ensure we get the freshest fish possible. And if suppliers don’t meet those criteria we change suppliers. Our reputation is for fresh fish and customer service.”

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.