It's a Family Affair

When Malcolm Holland first started selling wellies at sheepdog trials nearly 50 years ago, little did he know he’d be the founder of a thriving family business. As his granddaughter Sarah Holland explains.

Words by Molly Haynes

(Above) Sarah Holland with her uncle, Mark, and brothers, Matthew and Robert, all wearing Ridgeline .

“The Hollands have been farmers since forever,” says Sarah as we settle in for a chat on Disley Hall Farm on the border of Cheshire and Derbyshire. “We started out as tenant farmers on a nearby estate, and then my great-great-grandfather, William Swindells, was able to buy the farm when the estate fell on hard times.”

Two generations later, Sarah’s grandad Malcolm had spent his life working alongside his father, running the milk float, growing crops, keeping pigs and even breeding racing pigeons.

“They worked very hard” says Sarah. “But when my grandad had his first heart attack, it made him rethink what he was spending his life doing.”

Market trading begins

In 1978, looking for ways to supplement the farm’s income, Malcolm started buying job lots of ex-army jackets and trousers to sell on.

“It didn’t always go to plan,” laughs Sarah. “He once bought a box of ‘skirts’ instead of ‘shirts’ at auction after he forgot his glasses. But he made such a success of selling at farmers’ markets and sheepdog trials that the clothing sales eclipsed the income from farming. He did that until he died at just 55 in 1989. 

His death hit the family hard. Sarah’s uncle Mark had not long finished a business degree when his life changed overnight. The family decided to tenant the farm. “We want our farm to remain a working farm, but obviously Malcolm gave the family another business to manage,” says Sarah. “Mark inherited the stock and van, so he carried on going to markets. When me and my older brother Matthew were teenagers in the early noughties, we used to help out.”

Going online

But when foot and mouth shut down country shows and markets overnight, Mark lost his customer base. “He went to night school and learned how to build a website and take Hollands Country Clothing online,” Sarah says. With e-commerce still a fledgling industry, hollandscountryclothing.co.uk was launched. The first sale was some pink wellies, and the family still did shows, packing orders from grandma Mavis’s kitchen table, while stock lived in boxes in the barn.

By then, Sarah had qualified as a nurse and spent a year working in New Zealand. “I loved nursing,” she says, “but while I was there Matthew rang and said, ‘I think we could really grow this business, it’s now or never.’” She moved back and split her week between nursing shifts and working alongside her uncle and brother. “There were times when I was buried under boxes trying to find stock and I wondered what I was doing. But Matthew would give me a pep talk, and eventually the business was doing so well that I left nursing and came on board full time.”

The business kept growing. Packing moved to Matthew’s garage and Mavis got her table back. Just in time for the pandemic’s online shopping surge. 

Online goes big

“By the time COVID hit we could already see consumer behaviour changing,” says Sarah. “We were updating the website, widening the range and making sure our customer service was excellent. So, when demand for outdoor clothing soared, we were in a good place.

“It was wonderful to be so busy, but we actually considered closing the website for a bit because it was hard to keep up with the orders and maintain good customer service.”

By that time, Sarah’s younger brother Robert had joined them, and they’d started to grow a local team so the siblings could focus on the bigger picture. “I went from customer service to focusing on the brands that we work with and stock,” she says. 

Brands that fit

While Hollands Country Clothing still works with some of the brands Malcolm first stocked, they’re particular about who they work with. 

“Our tagline is For Everything Country,” says Sarah. “We stock everything from the heavyduty clothing farmers need, to the kit that people who live in the country like to wear.” Ridgeline is one of their 2026 brands to watch. 

“Ridgeline’s not afraid to innovate,” says Sarah. “The design team include buyers like us as they’re considering ideas, which is great because we know what our customers like and buy.” Her daily uniform consists of Ridgeline’s Infinity leggings and Kodiak gilet. “I’ve got them in all the colours,” she says.

Looking to the future

Matthew’s instinct that they could make something of Malcolm’s original dream was spot on. In the last decade, turnover has multiplied many times over, but the focus is now on controlled growth and putting down roots with their first retail store.

“We’re opening on a farm in Cheshire that has a café, butchers and farm shop. And we’ll definitely be stocking Ridgeline there,” she laughs.

Her grandad Malcolm is never far from her thoughts – his initials are carved on a farm building she passes every day. “My grandma recently told me how proud Grandad would be of us,” says Sarah. “He’d have loved the idea of it turning into something bigger for future generations of the family. I wish he could have seen it.” 

(Below) Matthew Holland wearing his Ridgeline Men’s Narvik in Navy.