Iconic ‘Harrods of the Highlands’ House of Bruar looks to add EV chargers as sales top £62m
“The growth in the use of the internet for shopping has increased the future opportunities of the business and opened up international markets” – Patrick Birkbeck, MD
House of Bruar, the iconic Perthshire clothing, food and tourism emporium, is planning to create an electric vehicle charging hub after annual turnover exceeded £60 million for the first time.
The retail landmark near Blair Atholl - often labelled the “Harrods of the Highlands” - also hailed strong growth in online sales, which has opened up new international markets.
The firm’s latest accounts, for the year to the end of January 2026, show that turnover topped £62m, which is 20 per cent higher than the previous year and the first time it has gone above £60m. Underlying profitability was up 12 per cent, year on year.
Managing director Patrick Birkbeck said: “There continues to be an increasing demand for House of Bruar branded merchandise at retail and more significantly on the internet and via mail order. This is enhanced by the promotion of world famous brands offered via all channels to the customer.
“The growth in the use of the internet for shopping has increased the future opportunities of the business and opened up international markets. The company continued to print catalogues in the US and is assessing whether this opportunity is available in the spring and also in other countries such as Canada.”
He said there were plans to create an EV charging hub on-site, which would incorporate chargers of various speeds.
“The main barrier to entry establishing this charging is the lack of capacity in the network and the extreme costs to improve the network,” he added. “A contract to install solar panels and battery storage is nearing agreement with the hope of installation and operation in early 2027.”
On the protracted plans to upgrade and dual the A9 trunk road, which House of Bruar sits next to, Birkbeck said: “It is the belief of the company that, once completed, the A9 will allow more people to visit Highland Perthshire and further north on a safer road. The structure and efficiency of the current road works from Tay Crossing to Ballinluig has not had a severe detrimental effect on traffic on A9 during this summer and visitor numbers have increased by 7 per cent during 2026.”
Earlier this week, it emerged that two men in balaclavas had stolen alcohol worth a five-figure sum from House of Bruar. Police said the break-in happened at about 2am on Tuesday.
Birkbeck said: “As the policy is to display the packaging and boxes, the thieves did not take many actual bottles. However, this is the third break in in three years and results in the Whisky Shop being closed for one day during the busy half term holiday period.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0234 of October 27 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.
House of Bruar said it would be hosting its annual retail sale over the weekend of November 13 to 15 and will continue to work closely with Transport Scotland to prevent road disruption over the period.
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