Meet the Team: Ricky Murphy

Ricky joined the team here as our Store Manager in Capel Street 18 months ago.

He brought with him a wealth of retail experience and has been elevating the shop floor into a dynamic retail space ever since. As with all staff here at The Hemp Company, Ricky works across a number of elements of the business from the physical store to online sales. Day to day he manages the shop, stock, merchandising, trade feedback, rostering and website orders (to name just a few). 

Over the last 15 years Ricky has been working in retail in Dublin. He started in River Island working his way up to management level in Urban Outfitters, Superdry and Bose. Now we are on the receiving end! 

Chatting to Ricky, he filled us in on his favourite thing about his (relatively) new role with us:

“I really enjoy the fact that I can discuss matters directly with the owner of the business. Coming from a corporate background this is something I haven’t experienced in prior roles. I also really like our staff and customers. Generally speaking, our customers are easy going, friendly people who are pleasant to deal with.”

He’s been completely thrown in at the deep end into the world of hemp and CBD but so far so good, it seems:

“I’ve learned more and more of the benefits of the hemp plant. It’s really amazing to hear customer’s feedback directly on how they have reaped the benefits of using our products. How it has helped them, their families, their pets or changed their lifestyle to a more positive one.”

As many of us have and are experiencing the continued challenges facing our industry, Ricky too feels there is a “constant game of moving goalposts” when it comes to what businesses can and can’t do with products made from industrial hemp. Issues we all hope will be ironed out over the coming months, as positive decisions by the EU Commission are set to clarify regulations and the good hemp story continues to grow across Europe. 

Parking that for now, we asked Ricky if he had any strange stories from the shop floor:

“I had a guy trying to give me a Nutella sachet which he had been keeping in his trouser pocket. Nice gesture…I think? A little odd and random. I declined the offer in the end.”

To finish up, Ricky’s favourite product at the moment are the CBD chocolate chip cookies which he says are “dee-licious!”. You can purchase these online or in-store where you can pop in and chat to Ricky in person.