My name is Adrian Tottman and since 1990 I have been married to my wife Lynn. We have two beautiful daughters, Kaitlin, who is 25 years old and studies occupational therapy at university, and Jenna who is 21 years old and has special needs; for one of her smiles, I would walk miles.
I started working in retail at the age of 16 as a shelf-filler and by 21 years old I was the manager of my first shop in England. I met Lynn around this time, when her dad moved from Glasgow to London for his job, but she became homesick, so after four years we got married in Scotland and I have been here ever since.
Co-op store awards
I worked for the Scottish Co-op for 20 years where I achieved Most Improved Store at Shawlands in 1992, out of what was 201 Scottish Co-ops back then. After this, I won Store of the Year at East Kilbride in 2003, of the 253 Scottish Co-ops at the time. I only won these awards with a good team behind me and together we accomplished common goals, targets, and budgets, which led to profit and whole team success.
Raising hospice funds
I moved to Strathcarron Hospice in 2012 as one of the first of four paid store managers, working at the Strathcarron Cumbernauld store. From there I managed three stores, became Furniture Store Manager then Retail Project Manager. While I was there, I increased sales at a 6,000 square foot warehouse and a new 4,000-foot store, which was the first to gain 1,000 sign ups for Gift Aid. With the help of volunteers, we also fundraised outside of the business to raise money for Strathcarron Hospice.
Together at Emmaus
Now I’m store manager for Emmaus Glasgow, I look forward to working with companions and volunteers to raise the profile of the charity and expand further in the retail sector, like I did at Strathcarron Hospice. I have links to Emmaus through my family, with my late father-in-law Harry Conroy having worked for Emmaus Glasgow in the past as a PA consultant.
Outside interests
In my spare time I enjoy looking after my daughters with my wife Lynn and walking the Campsie Fells because it’s so nice to be in the open air and see great scenes from the hilltops. I also like watching sci fi films. I love Alien, so you could say my best secondhand purchase is most likely to be a sci fi DVD. My favourite food is custard creams, but I’m trying to lay off them as I’m on a diet and my favourite quote is, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ by Julius Caesar.