JAMES PURDEY & SONS LIMITED For this issue’s Store of the Month, we went to London to speak to Andrew Ambrose, Director of Gun Sales at James Purdey & Sons

for many generations and our thought process was that we should make every effort to future-proof that gun. Given the excellent work done by our factory it has not changed the balance or handling and now comes as standard with any new Purdey. If I had to make a prediction, I’d say over-and -unders will continue to rise in popularity, which I am sure will disappoint side-by-side enthusiasts! We have seen this trend continue and it is one of the reasons why we have three over-and-under models. Having said all that, as one client said to me when I explained our sales ratio of side-by-side to over-andunder, “But Andrew, our eyes are side-by-side, not stacked on top of each other!”

Who’s the one member of staff you couldn’t live without and why?

I manage a team of five, which includes three salespeople with an additional two after-sales members. Every single member of the team is critical because when one is not present I can see the difference.

Tell us a little more about yourself, and why you’re running a gun shop. Tell us what you passions are.

I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career and held a number of roles within our industry. I started off at Holland & Holland in a gun sales support role, essentially responsible for supporting the gun sales team and for the firearms register. Twenty five years ago, computers still hadn’t arrived at Holland & Holland and so I was brought in to update the systems and transfer the records to digital. I stayed in that role for four years before being offered the chance to join the gun sales team. Although I was very keen to join the sales team, this was off-set with a reluctance, given my lack of technical knowledge in the actual gunmaking and lack of confidence in my product knowledge. Thankfully the chairman at the time, John Ormiston, backed me and offered me the opportunity to work in the factory for a year. This was so beneficial, firstly because I got to know the craftsmen and gain their support (in most cases!) and secondly, I gained an understanding of the craft and the work that goes into best gunmaking. I was then equipped to join the sales team and progressed to the role of Gunroom Manager, eventually working for Holland & Holland for a few months short of 20 years in total.

I was then approached by Marc Newton at Rigby, who offered me the unique role of Head of Sales in 2017. Rigby were, and still are, a forward-thinking company that loves to push the envelope, and they are extremely creative. I greatly enjoyed my time there, adding more to my existing knowledge, from H&H, on both bolt action and double rifles and generally about the hunting side of our world.

In February 2020, just before the lockdown, I was approached to become the Director of Gun Sales here at Purdey, which was an offer I simply couldn’t refuse. I had of course watched Purdey from afar, being at Holland & Holland and then Rigby, and was acutely aware of their great history and heritage. This, coupled with what Purdey have given to the industry over the past 200-plus years, was an opportunity I relished.

What has been the most successful product (or area) for you in the past year?

Since Covid, the last few years have been good years, with our sidelocks seeing a resurgence in orders. We have also witnessed the growth of our Purdey Trigger Plate (launched in 2018), with clients recognising the unique space they fill in the new gun market. Then finally, bringing the Purdey Sporter completely in-house and entirely made in London has really excited our clients.

What’s your clientele like?

First off, our clients are extremely varied and come from all different backgrounds. I think the belief that our clients come from an aristocratic background is now an anachronism. One could possibly argue that was the case maybe 50 years ago but not today. The large majority of our clients are self-made who have aspired to own a Purdey for years. In the main they have reached a stage in life where they want to purchase something that is not only extremely tangible that they can physically enjoy using but something they can pass onto the next generation and pass on the enjoyment that they experienced themselves.

What was your best day ever?

I have experienced many enjoyable and memorable days in this industry, with some being unprintable! Without wishing to speak for others, I believe that’s why a lot of us enjoy this industry so much. Selling a new pair of 12-bores and a new pair of 20-bores inside 10 minutes to a walk-in client at Holland & Holland who we had not met before and was completely unannounced was quite memorable! We do a lot of events abroad and one year we went to California to take some demo guns to a private members club. We wanted to give clients the actual opportunity to handle and shoot our guns. We had quite a few clients visit us but we sold double the amount we had planned to in a single day!

Andrew has worked in the gun trade for 25 years and for Purdey since 2020

Who’s your best customer?

That’s difficult because a large part of the enjoyment is the variation in customer that we meet. From our perspective all our clients are passionate about Purdey and that makes the job very enjoyable.

What’s your funniest or most memorable story about a customer?

I met a client who had confirmed to proceed with his order for a new side-by-side. We always encourage the clients to express their thoughts on their engraving, especially if it is to be a more personalised style of engraving. Over the years we have had many examples of a client wanting to have their dog engraved on their gun somewhere, and so in this instance I suggested we could do a scene on the lockplate. The client paused and said he wanted his dog to be engraved on the trigger guard instead. I explained that the trigger guard was a lot smaller and would restrict the engraver but that we could make it work. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked the client why he wanted it engraved on the trigger guard and he said, “Well, when my dog dies, it is far cheaper to fit a new trigger guard and re-engrave my new dog, than to replace the entire lockplate!”

What do you anticipate will be the biggest trends for the next year?

I don’t think we are necessarily the best-placed in the industry to say what the biggest trends will be. Tempting as it is to give the knee-jerk answer of ‘steel shot’, the truth is, as a company, Purdey have been superior steel-shot proofing their guns for six to seven years. We are building a gun designed to last

When you order stock, what’s the first thing you put down?

For us, the large majority of our gunmaking is bespoke and made to order but we do have a selection of guns ready to be purchased “off the shelf”. For these stock guns it’s about anticipating what the client wants and requires. For example, we will be quite conservative with the engraving because if a client wants a game scene then they will place a bespoke order for that specific scene. We do handselect the wood and always go longer in the stock so that there is the opportunity to then adjust the measurements to fit that client.

Any other interesting facts about the business?

For me, and though not exclusive to Purdey, one of the most interesting features of our business is that we build “out the back” and “sell out the front”. With the change in business practices across all industries over the past 50 or so years, either the manufacture is outsourced or the retailing is outsourced; it is quite rare to do both. We do both and that brings unique benefits, but of course issues as well.

What is the best thing for you about working in a gun shop?

As mentioned above, it is the great variation in the clients we are lucky to meet. Our clients come from all different backgrounds and from all over the world. This mix provides us with many different requests and sees us build many different guns, all entirely unique. And that leads me into the second part about working in a gun shop: getting to witness and momentarily (!) hold these wonderful new and old Purdeys that the imagination of the client has helped create and our craftsmen have brought to life with their immense talent.

Are people surprised when you tell them you run a gun shop?

I’ve been doing it for quite a while now—2023 marked my 25th year in this industry! That said, yes is the answer when I meet new people, and after the initial surprise comes the long list of questions, because people are always so interested to learn more, which is refreshing and rewarding. GTN