Md
CurrentWhen Emer Purcell decided to set up her own hamper business back in 1993,by her own admission, she was driven solely by a sense of entrepreneurship and wanted to “do it first and ask questions later”.Finding herself in China, for example, she successfully negotiated the design & purchase of a wide range of packaging – several container loads, in fact. It was only as the ink was drying on the contract that she began to be aware of the logistical problems and paperwork problems involved in getting them shipped back to Ireland.Pondering her dilemma in the local hostelry, a chance meeting with a Dublin shipping agent offered her a solution, and the various hurdles associated with landing the goods were taken care of over a bowl of noodles.Purcell has learned from the lesson, however, and has become a stickler for detail in the intervening years. She and her team have subsequently become experts in shipping premium packaging, fine food and wines from every corner of the world, to add to the very best of select Irish produce.The detailed approach has paid off handsomely and the fledgling business has grown steadily from the earliest days when Purcell made deliveries herself from the back of a horsebox. Today, Hampers & Co is Ireland’s leading hamper company, dispatching over 20,000 hampers each year.Purcell and her partner, Alan Metcalfe, regularly log tens of thousands of miles in their quest for the finest quality produce, including premium wines and spirits, each with its own individual story to tell and each with its unique air of exclusivity and prestige.“The day you start shortcutting is the day you go out of business. We’ll quite literally go to the ends of the earth to find what we want, making sure that it meets the evolving tastes of our Irish and international clients.”
