BRAND PROFILE
[ COUNTRYWIDE SIGNS ]^
SUPERMARKETS,
SUPPORT AND
SERVICE
All roads lead to Countrywide Signs for Liam Smyth
I
t may not seem a natural step to
go from retail management to
starting a van-based business
managing estate agency boards,
but for 25-year-old Liam Smyth the
transition was an obvious one following
months of research.
“I was a line manager for Sainsbury’s
for around four years and had worked
in retail management for a further
three years before that,” he says. “I
was running the local online deliveryoperation with eight vans and 38
colleagues. It took time, but we got
there and grew it more than 50 per cent
during my time. I’m very proud of that.
“Countrywide Signs is a multi-van
business, which obviously means
you’re managing drivers and vehicles,
and immediately made me think: ‘I
do that now’. From there I read into it
more, looked at the financials, what
the business entailed and checked out
potential local competition.”EYE ON THE FUTURE
So why did he want to leave in the
first place, given such a strong track
record?
“I enjoyed it, but the hours didn’t
suit me as much as they once did,”
Liam explains. “I recently got
married, so my eye is on the future for
our family.
“A lot of days I was working from
3am until 3pm or 4pm and the
number of hours just wasn’t adding