THE WEEK IN RETAIL
EDITOR’S COMMENT SHARE YOUR NEWS AND VIEWS WITH ME AT ABEGLEY@55NORTH.COM
IF ONLY EVERY RECESSION FELT LIKE THIS... It’s a strange feeling to be learning today that the UK economy is now officially in recession, recession being technically defined as a fall in GDP in two successive quarters. As a general rule, recessions tend to be exceptionally painful for the vast majority of those in the business community. Think back to 2009 when the global banking system collapsed and disappeared up its own bailout, for instance. But this recession feels different, certainly if you’re a convenience retailer. You may not agree if you run a pub or a restaurant or pretty much any other type of business for that matter. But this recession has been bizarrely kind to local retailers – and maybe that’s just a karma thing. After all, the sector has been getting it tight for years and has been squeezed from all corners for just about as long as we’ve been producing SLR. Only a year or so ago we were openly pondering whether the convenience retailing sector even had a future. Margins plummeting, competition proliferating like coronavirus in an Aberdeen pub and costs rocketing across the board. What a difference a few months can make.
It goes without saying that we wouldn’t have wished the coronavirus pandemic on anyone – but very, very, very occasionally the world conspires to give our sector a break and a chance to let everyone know that we’re still here for them, just as we always have been – even if they choose not to notice most of the time. It’s given our sector a chance to prove itself invaluable to every community on this island of ours – and make a few quid into the bargain. I’ve spoken to so many retailers who feel guilty about this bizarre sequence of events. And that’s understandable. Making money out of a crisis is a tough thing to come to terms with for most, I suspect. But at the end of the day, retailers didn’t bring this about; all they did was provide invaluable help and support to their communities when they really needed it. In a sense, the financial gains are merely a byproduct of being there for everyone in their hours and months of need. That’s not something to feel guilty about. And if recessions must happen, as they inevitably must, then let‘s just hope that more of them feel like this one.
ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY
ANTONY BEGLEY, EDITOR
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2020 / ISSUE 17 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 3
