BMM October 2018

THE MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH INDEPENDENT RETAILERS ASSOCIATION ISSUE 21 | OCTOBER 2018

Animal

magic

At the oldest family-owned pet shop in the country, Nick Robinson has combined traditional service and expert knowledge with a new direction in animal nutrition

Get more for less You are challenged to provide your customers with more for less so our aim is to do the same for you. We give you more cover with less time shopping. Because time is money.

With bira insurance, designed and delivered by Towergate and exclusively available to bira members, you can rest assured your business is protected against events such as:

FULL theft theft of stock in the open and theft with / without forcible or violent entry / exit

Damages to your stock, business premises and property

Loss of income following business interruption

Loss of utilities with NO excess applied

Allegations of negligence from the public and employees

Cyber threats Practical online advice through our cyber assessment tool

If your current business insurance is due in the next 90 days challenge us for a better deal. We will guarantee your quote even if rates go up between your quotation and the 90-day mark.

bira insurance team is on hand to help.

Talk to us today:

0330 123 5939

designed and delivered by Towergate

bira insurance is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered Address: Towergate House, Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne Rd, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3EN. Registered in England with company number 4043759. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Comment

Let us know how we can help you Please tell me how we can improve bira, says new CEO Andrew Goodacre

Cover photograph: Eric Musgrave

HELLO. I AM very proud to lead bira and represent the independent retail businesses of the UK. Firstly, I must thank my predecessor Alan Hawkins for helping me understand how bira operates since I started here on 3 September. It is not always possible to have such a handover and Alan’s insight has been invaluable.

The people at 225 Bristol Road have made me feel really welcome. It is encouraging to see the enthusiasm and commitment everyone has to making the association, and therefore our members, successful. It is obvious to me that bira offers much more than many other trade bodies and has unique strengths, such as bira bank and bira direct, two services highly valued by many members.

Such assets underline that bira (like any good retailer) has been innovative in the past and has been determined to offer great service.

I believe we will need these qualities to succeed in the future, so we can attract even more members (and retain them once they have

joined). In our challenging sector there are support for our adjustments to the business far too many independent retail businesses rates system. struggling to operate without the support of Naturally, I am very keen to immerse myself bira. I am determined to change that situation. into the independent retail sector and I will look Even in my first month I have become to spend time with members in their businesses acutely aware the biggest concern for our so I can better understand what you need from members (and retail concerns in general) is the bira. I already have ‘hit the road’ in my first unfair burden imposed on them by business month. In York I visited Barnitts, Browns rates. Of the collective business rates bill, and Pextons, three different long-established retailers pay nearly 25%, which amounts to specialists with an effective strategy in common about £7bn annually. There is a consensus the – to offer great products with great service. current system is not fit for purpose and, as you Still in Yorkshire, I attended a “Health of the will be aware, bira has been working for around High Street” meeting organised in Harrogate by two years on alternative solutions. We presented bira member William Woods of interior design our pragmatic and practical proposal to MPs specialist Woods of Harrogate (see p5). and peers at the Houses of Parliament on 11 It might take me quite some time, to put September (see p2 and p8). Happily, it was very it mildly, to meet the many thousands of bira well received. members. So why don’t we communicate the Keeping the momentum going, on 10 modern way? I would very much like to hear October I am meeting Paul Uppal MP, the from you via andrew.goodacre@bira.co.uk and Small Business Commissioner, who leads an Wages Survey 2018 I would be thrilled if you followed my Twitter independent office tasked with empowering account @bira_CEO. small businesses. I am hoping to secure his I am delighted to be working for you.

BIRA RESEARCH

bira's unique nationwide survey of employment trends shows that few members are recruiting but more than half have been able to give staff a pay rise

THE BIRA 2018 Wages Survey shows that while almost two thirds of respondents said their profits had been affected by the National Minimum/Living Wage, 62.1% of members have reported giving a pay rise this year, which is an increase of 4.9% from 2017. Those who could afford a rise were able to be more generous compared to 2017, with the average increase at 4.03%, up from 3.9%.

Recruitment is clearly not a priority at the moment with 83.43% of respondents saying they are not currently hiring. Retailers may instead be focusing on retention as respondents who were not able to give their staff a pay rise have looked to make up for this through other means. Some 34.48% are offering reduced hours worked or a reduced working week, while 29.31% offer other benefits in lieu such as additional holidays.

The rates of pay by area showed small signs of

improvement when compared to the 2017 results, probably reflecting that over half of all respondents have been able to give a wages increase.

The 12-page bira Wages Survey 2018 is packed with information to help you with employment issues. The only report of its kind that represents the retail industry within the UK, it is used to influence the government and media through our legal and parliamentary affairs committee (LPAC). As an annual survey, it is crucial that we have as many retailers as possible completing it. If you contributed to the survey this year, please accept our sincere thanks. If you are a retail member of bira and didn’t take part, we would really appreciate you doing so next year. Want to complete the survey but not receiving the emails?

Then please contact the bira marketing team on 0121 446 6688 to be included.

Rates of pay Rates of pay by area (£ per hour) SCOTLAND

NORTH 11.76

Manager

11.91

Manager

10.08

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

12.04

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.7

Supervisor

8.94

Supervisor

9.3

Supervisor

8.46

Full-time

8.43

Full-time

8.65

Full-time

8.15

Part time 18-21 Under 18

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

8.07

Part time

6.53

18-21

5.05

Under 18

Manager

11.31

Manager

14

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.28

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

10

9.9

18-21

5.73

Under 18

4.38

8

N. IRELAND

9.22

Supervisor

8.65

Supervisor

9.5

8.33

Full-time

8.53

Full-time

8.05

Part time

8.19

Part time

7.83

18-21

6.32

18-21

6.26

18-21

6.5

Under 18

4.83

8.1

Under 18

4.72

Under 18

11.03

Manager

11.92

Manager

WALES

OCTOBER 2018

Part time

5.74 4.31

Supervisor

Manager

This is your bira magazine, so share your news, views and ideas with like-minded retailers by contacting us at editorial@bira.co.uk All contributions will be gratefully received

8.36

SOUTH EAST

Full-time Part time

ISSUE 21 OCTOBER 2018

9.63

14.11

EAST ANGLIA Manager

IN THIS EDITION

MIDLANDS

Manager Assistant/ Deputy Manager

SOUTH WEST

5

LONDON

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

8.27

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.14

Supervisor

6.25

Supervisor

9.29

12.28

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.89

Supervisor

10.11

Full-time

7.24

Full-time

8.2

Full-time

8.44

Part time

7.46

Part time

8.75

Part time

8.91

18-21

5.06

18-21

6.63

18-21

N/A

Under 18

N/A

Under 18

5.29

Under 18

N/A

6

2

Trade news for bira members

MPs welcome our rates review proposals, while the indie agenda is pushed in Harrogate

Gap between the NMW of £7.83 and your starting rate by location

£1.11 £0.90 £0.77 £0.75 £0.59 £0.58 £0.50 £0.45 London

South East/E.Anglia

South West

Wales

North

Midlands

Scotland

N.Ireland

OCTOBER 2018

6

Highlights from bira Wages Survey 2018

Our unique nationwide research shows that cost control is key, but wages are on the up

8Parliamentary privilege for rates

10 Revitalising Lakeland Leather

At the Houses of Parliament we put business rates reform on Whitehall’s agenda

Turning around the UK’s main specialist in leather and sheepskin jackets

25 Counterpoint with Des Count Our cheeky chappy in the gift store is feeling lost, lonely and unloved this year

Robinson & a mention 14Nick modern petshop 19Don't the "B" word

Needle 28The Works

How Robinson's in Newcastle, still thrives after changing direction

Angie Kay turned her passion for knitting into a business - a mere 12 years after she retired

Brexit is never out of the news, but how is it affecting bira members?

1

TRADE NEWS

Talks continue on new offensive weapons law…

The Duchess of Wessex chats with fashion buyer Margaret Rynne at Daniel in Windsor

The 100th anniversary celebrations for Daniel of Windsor received royal approval on 17 September when Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited the family-owned department store. She spoke with staff members, about how the store has evolved since it opened its doors in 1918 and unveiled a commemorative plaque in the Foggs restaurant to celebrate the store’s 100 years of trading in Windsor. The business, which is run by Peter Daniel, grandson of founder W J Daniel, holds a Royal Warrant for supplying gifts to the Queen. The Windsor store has been significantly refurbished in recent years. The company also has smaller stores in Chiswick and Ealing in west London.

Liz Lawson pedals 300km for charity LIZ LAWSON IS getting on her bike to raise funds for the 175th anniversary of trade charity The Rainy Day Trust.

In an intensive four weeks she is planning to compete three 100km (60m) road trials or sportives. She completed the Rapha 100k on 15 September and now faces the Land’s End Sportive on 6 October & Great South West Sportive on 14 October.

“I had ridden 100k only once before and I found it really tough!” admitted Liz, who is managing director of the Plymouth-based chain Lawsons. “I am a keen road cyclist, but normally I cycle only about 30 miles at the weekend; 100k is over double this distance and it is a real challenge as all the rides will be in the very hilly West Country!

"The Rainy Day Trust, which was founded in 1843, is a benevolent charity which helps people who have worked in the hardware industry, whether in retail, builders’ merchants or manufacturing. In today’s society charities like these help people before they slip through the cracks into debt or homelessness due to no fault of their own, as social services are no longer there to help them. Sometimes a small amount of money or support can help someone keep their head above water and support their family. It’s a fabulous charity that does fantastic work.”

BIR A CONTINUES TO be fully involved with the Home Office and New Scotland Yard in discussions on potential new legislation to control the sale of knives and other items regarded as offensive weapons.

A recent suggestion from the Opposition that all “bladed products” should be kept in locked cabinets in shops or in a zone accessible only to shop staff is being opposed by bira as unnecessarily expensive and impractical.

“There are some silly ideas being

bandied about as the consultation continues,” says Vin Vara of the Londonbased Tool Shop Group, who is one of bira’s representatives in the discussions.

“We are concerned that a lot of attention is being put on the likes of regular DIY and cook shops, but there is no regulation to stop the grey imports via online retailers based in Europe or China. Martial arts weapons like ‘zombie knives’ and supposedly decorative items like samurai swords are still coming into the country in significant numbers, we believe.”

…while recent “acids” rules remain confusing BIRA MEMBERS ARE confused and concerned about recent legislation limiting the sale of a range of chemicals commonly described as “acids”.

Under The Poisons Act 1972 (Explosives Precursors) (Amendment) Regulations 2018, which came into effect on 1 July, restricted materials can be sold to trades people, but members of the public require an EPP (Explosives Precursors and Poisons) Licence. Among the chemicals affected are widely-available drain cleaners such as One Shot.

Duncan Mackay of hardware store Mackays of Cambridge, which stocks a range of affected materials, remarked:

“There is still a lot of ignorance about this issue. What proof do we need from a bona fide trades person? And nobody knows what these EPP licences look like.

“There will be a lot of retailers with considerable stocks of One Shot, for example, and it may be difficult to sell them in future. Interestingly, they are still for sale on Amazon, so Trading Standards has not got its act going yet.

“Additionally, the legislation doesn’t seem to regulate sodium hydroxide, which we sell in solid form. People could make really supersaturated solutions of this, which would be hugely corrosive and just as dangerous as sulphuric acid.”

Anyone wishing to sponsor Liz can do so through her JustGiving page, which is in her married name of Squara.

Go to justgiving.com/fundraising/liz-squara

2

OCTOBER 2018

TRADE NEWS

Contact your MP to drive rates reform plan AS MEMBERS OF Parliament start to acknowledge the problem of shop closures nationwide, bira members are being urged to contact their own MPs to highlight the pressures independent retail businesses are under, especially from business rates.

At the Houses of Parliament on 11 September bira launched its proposal for an adjustment to rates relief, which was widely welcomed by legislators for its timeliness and relevance (see pages 8-9).

To increase the momentum of the argument and to back the widespread calls for a major overhaul of the business rates system, the 573 MPs representing English and Welsh constituencies covered by business rates ought to be fully informed of the realities of modern retailing, bira believes.

“Across the country, increasing numbers of MPs are seeing with their own eyes what is happening to the traditional high streets in their constituencies.

They know the number of shop closures may well become an issue at the next election, so they will listen to what bira members have to say,” said bira’s CEO Andrew Goodacre. “I’d encourage members to engage with their parliamentary representatives so they in turn can carry the message to the powers that be. This is definitely a topic of increasing national importance.”

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, who is a Tory Party vice-chairman responsible for business engagement, attended the launch. He commented: “In the UK we are undergoing a big societal change and we are experiencing a confluence of challenges all at the same time. MPs will be sympathetic (to bira’s arguments) because (the closures) are happening

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Tory MP for The Cotswolds, hosted bira's event. He stressed the value of small shops to local communities

everywhere. Shops have an economic and a social function. If a town centre is hollowed out, it starts to look like a ghost town.”

Surinder Josan, bira president, remarked: “The launch of our rates proposal was received very positively because what we are saying rings a bell with the MPs and the Lords who attended. Our host, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, represents The Cotswolds and he relates to the importance of shops in villages there. Tory peer Lord Naseby mentioned the severe effect the closure of Marks & Spencer in Northampton was going to have on the town. We must keep up the momentum of our campaign.”

Immediate past president Vin Vara added: “With our proposal for reforming rates relief we have thrown a stone in a big pond and it’s making ripples. The MPs are looking and listening to us. Our members across the country should get involved.”

Have the largest retailers given up on shop theft?

ANTI-SHOP THEFT CAMPAIGNER Neil Mackay is urging bira, through its membership of the British Retail Consortium, to keep up the pressure on large retailers to report stealing from stores to the police.

He believes statistics surrounding shop theft are very inaccurate as many retailers no longer bother to report incidences of stealing, largely because police have themselves downgraded the seriousness of the crime.

“A clothing chain store manager I know told me that in his branch alone they had stock worth over £42,000 at cost stolen in a 6-week period prior to last Christmas,” says Neil, who runs Mackays of Cambridge with his brother Duncan. “Astonishingly, not one of those crimes was reported to the local police as senior staff at the company's head office regarded it as not worthy of management time to do so.”

As part of his long-standing campaign, Neil is often quoted in his local and national media and earlier this year he attended and contributed to a debate on shop theft in one of the committee rooms of the Houses of Parliament. bira wants to hear from you about your experiences with shop theft. Is it on the increase in your shop or your area?

What is the attitude of the local police?

Please share your views via editorial@ bira.co.uk

Opening a new door in Lisburn

A computer-generated image of the finished project, showing the car park and housing association block of flats. Inset: The rear of the store before construction work began.

OCTOBER 2018

WHEN ROAD IMPROVEMENTS meant customers could no longer drive up to the front door of the Smyth Patterson department store in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, the company decided to reate a new entrance at the rear.

Work was started in July and the new entrance is scheduled to be finished before Christmas. The scheme also includes a customer car park and a block of 28 apartments for a housing association.

M a n a g i ng d i r e c tor C olin Pat terson explained: “The rear of our premises was in a very poor state of repair and was used mainly as a goods

entrance, although the public used it too. For years we have known we would have to develop it someday. A few years ago the improvement scheme made the town centre look much nicer, but prevented cars getting to our front door and some of our less able customers were not able to walk the extra distance necessary. This spurred us on with our development. After two years of planning, it has been a challenging time but we are looking forward to a much improved and more accessible shop.”

The business began in 1926 when Smyth Patterson started selling farm produce in Belfast markets. He bought premises on Market Square, Lisburn in 1936, which his sons, Harold and Hubert, developed as a department store in the 1950s. Colin is Hubert’s son.

3

TRADE NEWS

Changes to HSBC and Global Payments crediting timescales

Flooring manager Andrew Boreham and assistant Lewis Bugg in part of the new flooring studio at Glasswells in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

New flooring studio for Glasswells AN IMPRESSIVE NEW f looring studio has been opened by Glasswells in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, as the latest stage in its ongoing £1million refurbishment.

The home furnishings superstore now has a hard flooring area, showcasing a huge choice of luxury vinyl tiles, laminate and engineered wood flooring designs from leading brands including Amtico and Karndean.

Interactive screens and extralarge product samples, which help people visualise what a new floor could look like, have been introduced.

The work in August coincided with the appointment of Andrew Boreham as Glasswells’ new flooring department manager and buyer.

Paul Glasswell, managing director of Glasswells, explained “This ambitious refurbishment, the most comprehensive in Glasswells’ history, has all been planned

4

with the customer in mind.

We have always strived to offer our customers the latest and most stylish furnishing options and it is essential that our environment provides visitors with the very best shopping experience.

“We are a forward-thinking company and we move with the times and embrace change. While we continue to work through the store and give each department a fresh look, our ethos of offering the widest choice, the best value, with the highest customer service remains the same.”

The works so far have involved an extension and complete refit of the in-store Place to Eat restaurant and full refurbishment of the massive furniture and bedroom display areas. In the next phase, due to start soon, the carpet and rug departments will be given a complete overhaul. The store has traded throughout the works.

MEMBERS WHO BANK with HSBC and receive next-day cleared funds will have received a letter recently explaining changes to their next-day crediting scheme. Transactions will now appear at 11am the next day, rather than 9am, which is the current arrangement.

Those members who bank with HSBC but are not on next-day cleared funds will have received another letter stating that uncleared transactions will not appear on their statement the next day as it currently does. In accordance with their agreement, the transaction will appear on the day that it clears, usually four days later.

Finally, if members are not banking with HSBC but are paying for the Premier Payments service from Global Payments, the current limits of nextday cleared funds (the maximum being £250,000) are being removed and will be unlimited as of 23 October.

If you would like to find out more about the changes, contact Global Pay-

ments on 0345 702 3344 and have your membership number handy.

Take action to fight financial crime The HSBC Safeguarding programme, which has been set up to fight financial crime, is an initiative to update and validate the information HSBC holds on all business customers. Business customers will need to provide information about themselves and the nature of their company.

The first phase of this programme is complete and all business customers should have received a letter to request information. It is important these requests are responded to in a timely manner so that the information gathered can be processed, verified and approved, which typically can take up to three months. Failure to respond to the letter will result in HSBC closing the business bank account.

How often do you do a happy little dance?

We thought this little poster was worth sharing. How do you remind potential customers of the benefits of shopping with an independent retailer?

Send your ideas to us at editorial@bira.co.uk

Marcia Dale (at back with arm raised) and Kevin Bellwood (centre) in Kampala

OCTOBER 2018

TRADE NEWS

Pushing the indie agenda in Harrogate THE SHOP VACANCY rate in Harrogate is about 7.7%, well below the national average of around 12.5%, but bira member William Woods sees no reason to be complacent about the health of the independent sector in the Yorkshire spa town.

“Being different is vital. Harrogate has to offer an experience that no other town offers and independent quality shops are an essential part of that,” he said.

In an interesting initiative that other bira members could emulate, the owner of premium interiors store Woods of Harrogate organised a round-table discussion last month that brought together the leader of the local council and other councillors, Conservative MP Andrew Jones, representatives from the Civic Society, the Visit Harrogate marketing campaign and the Chamber of Trade, a property agent and bira’s Alan Hawkins and Andrew Goodacre.

To provide the two-hour discussion with some national context, Alan gave an overview of retailing trends based on bira’s recent Quarterly Survey and the burden

of business rates. The council members responded with an outline of initiatives Harrogate was following to support its retailers.

“We are delighted by the proactive approach of the council in supporting members with business rates by applying relief to all those businesses that have experienced a significant increase in their rates bill,” said Andrew.

Despite the apparent prosperity of the town, the meeting heard that not all was well. Robin Hanson of property agent Brackenridge Hanson Tate said the desirability of Harrogate for large retailers was weakening. A number were negotiating rent reductions, even on the premium James Street.

Caroline Bayliss, chairwoman of Visit Harrogate, added: “My friends who like to shop tell me Harrogate is going down the drain.

The reality is the empty shops we have are not going to be filled again.

The town needs 10% fewer shops and they need to be concentrated into a smaller area to make the whole town more attractive again.”

There was widespread agreement that town centres could no

Before the meeting William Woods (centre) gave Alan Hawkins and Andrew Goodacre a tour of his spacious and beautiful interiors store

Being different is vital to Harrogate. Quality independent shops are an essential part of that William Woods

longer be just about retailing, but the councillors reminded attendees that they had to work within national guidelines on planning and change of use. The council agreed it ought to look at new initiatives to drive more footfall.

After the meeting William Woods admitted he remained frustrated about the situation in the town, where his family has been active since 1733.

Our charitable champions visit Uganda MARCIA DALE AND Kevin Bellwood, bira’s Charitable Champions of 2018, spent 10 days this summer visiting South Sudanese orphans and former street children at a centre in Kampala, Uganda that they support.

Around 40 children, aged between five and 18 years, were taken from South Sudan to Kampala by Confident Children out of Conflict, a charity which Kevin chairs in the UK. The owners of the Roobarb gift shops in Bridgnorth and ShrewsOCTOBER 2018

bury visited during the school holidays. “The children, predominately girls, are taught in Uganda as the education system in South Sudan, would probably fail them,” says Kevin. “They are incredibly intelligent and can’t wait to learn. All they yearn for is a good education.

They have been through a huge amount and are vulnerable.

“Most of them want to be doctors, nurses, pilots and journalists.

They would like to return to South Sudan once they have finished their schooling and help re-build their

country. The first of these girls will go to university in Kampala this year to study to be a doctor.

“I lived in South Sudan and I have known these children since they were very young. I have seen them grow and mature in to very confident young people with the help of a good education. On the trip I presented a two-hour workshop to the girls on the potential dangers of social media. I am afraid Africa is no different to anywhere else in the world. Young people like to use social media, but these young

people don’t have anyone to highlight the potential dangers”.

Marcia added: “It was the most satisfying time I have ever spent on holiday. These young people soak up learning and are desperate to be taught more, but they have so much homework to do. I came away totally worn out and needing another holiday”.

Roobarb won the Charitable Champion Award at this year’s bira awards for their work in supporting the charity initiatives in South Sudan and Kampala.

5

BIRA RESEARCH

Wages Survey 2018 bira's unique nationwide survey of employment trends shows that few members are recruiting but more than half have been able to give staff a pay rise

THE BIRA 2018 Wages Survey shows that while almost two thirds of respondents said their profits had been affected by the National Minimum/Living Wage, 62.1% of members have reported giving a pay rise this year, which is an increase of 4.9% from 2017. Those who could afford a rise were able to be more generous compared to 2017, with the average increase at 4.03%, up from 3.9%.

Recruitment is clearly not a priority at the moment with 83.43% of respondents saying they are not currently hiring. Retailers may instead be focusing on retention as respondents who were not able to give their staff a pay rise have looked to make up for this through other means. Some 34.48% are offering reduced hours worked or a reduced working week, while 29.31% offer other benefits in lieu such as additional holidays.

The rates of pay by area showed small signs of

improvement when compared to the 2017 results, probably reflecting that over half of all respondents have been able to give a wages increase.

The 12-page bira Wages Survey 2018 is packed with information to help you with employment issues. The only report of its kind that represents the retail industry within the UK, it is used to influence the government and media through our legal and parliamentary affairs committee (LPAC). As an annual survey, it is crucial that we have as many retailers as possible completing it. If you contributed to the survey this year, please accept our sincere thanks. If you are a retail member of bira and didn’t take part, we would really appreciate you doing so next year. Want to complete the survey but not receiving the emails?

Then please contact the bira marketing team on 0121 446 6688 to be included.

Rates of pay Rates of pay by area (£ per hour) SCOTLAND

NORTH 11.76

Manager

11.91

Manager

9.63

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

10.08

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

12.04

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.7

Supervisor

8.94

Supervisor

9.3

Supervisor

8.46

Full-time

8.43

Full-time

8.65

Full-time

8.15

Part time

8.07

Part time

8.36

Part time

8

18-21

6.53

18-21

5.74

18-21

5.73

Under 18

5.05

Under 18

4.31

Under 18

4.38

14.11

Manager

11.31

Manager

14

9.28

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

10

EAST ANGLIA Manager Assistant/ Deputy Manager

SOUTH EAST

N. IRELAND

9.9

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

Supervisor

9.22

Supervisor

8.65

Supervisor

9.5

Full-time

8.33

Full-time

8.53

Full-time

8.05

Part time

8.1

Part time

8.19

Part time

7.83 6.5

18-21

6.32

18-21

6.26

18-21

Under 18

4.83

Under 18

4.72

Under 18

Manager

11.03

Manager

11.92

Manager

12.28

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

8.27

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.14

Assistant/ Deputy Manager

9.89

Supervisor

6.25

Supervisor

9.29

Supervisor

10.11

Full-time

7.24

Full-time

8.2

Full-time

8.44

Part time

7.46

Part time

8.75

Part time

8.91

18-21

5.06

18-21

6.63

18-21

N/A

Under 18

N/A

Under 18

5.29

Under 18

N/A

WALES

6

MIDLANDS

Manager

SOUTH WEST

5

LONDON

Gap between the NMW of £7.83 and your starting rate by location

£1.11 £0.90 £0.77 £0.75 £0.59 £0.58 £0.50 £0.45 London

South East/E.Anglia

South West

Wales

North

Midlands

Scotland

N.Ireland

OCTOBER 2018

BIRA RESEARCH

Pensions

Flexible working

Has the introduction of auto-enrolment pensions schemes directly affected what you can pay in salary increases?

Are you receiving more requests for flexible working arrangements?

46.24% 53.76%

If yes, have you been able to accommodate these requests?

75.51% 22.45% 2.04%

34.52% 65.48%

Yes

All

Yes

No

Some

No

None

Do you allow staff to continue employment after the age of 65?

90.85% 9.15% Yes

No

If yes, what percentage of your staff are over 65?

19.01%

Pay and jobs in the current economic climate Have you been able to offer staff a pay rise this year?

Yes 62.13% 4.03% No 37.87% (median = 3%) If no, have you done any of the following?

29.31% 34.48%

Minimum

More than minimum

Offered other benefits in lieu (eg Extra holidays)

Reduced hours worked/ working week

Introduced a pay freeze

Made redundancies

0.69%

What level of pension contribution do you pay your employees?

91.82% 8.18%

In light of the new Equalities legislation, how confident are you that you pay male and female staff the same rate for similar jobs?

3.5% OCTOBER 2018

15.52% The bira Wages Survey is

complied annually and we strongly

recommend more members becoming

involved in providing information for the

97.53% Very confident

If more than minimum, average how much over

If yes, the average % increase was

1.89%

Need to change rates to comply

0.62% Need to check

report so it is as representative as possible.

Participating members receive the full

12-page report in the form of a pdf packed

with statistics relating to staff pay, benefits, recruitment and retention. The report in

digital form is available to other members at ÂŁ50 + VAT from the bira marketing team on 0121 446 6688.

7

BUSINESS RATES REFORM

Parliamentary privilege

Alan Hawkins outlines bira’s business rates proposal at the Houses of Parliament

After two years of preparation, bira’s proposal for rates reform to bring immediate benefit to most independent retail businesses was launched in the Houses of Parliament.

The fight goes on…

8

PARLIAMENTARIANS HAVE WELCOMED bira’s proposals for a simple and pragmatic business rates adjustment following a formal launch of the policy at the Houses of Parliament on 11 September.

The event was a significant staging post in bira’s long-running campaign to secure for independent retailers a “level playing field” on which to compete against larger competitors, especially online-only operators, which have much smaller rates bills on their huge warehouses than bricks-and-mortar traders do on shops.

MPs who attended the two-hour session in the Gothic splendour of Committee Room 10 of the Palace of Westminster expressed their willingness to promote the issue of business rates reform in Parliament.

Tory grandee Lord Naseby – previously the long-serving MP Michael Morris, a former Deputy Speaker of the Commons – promised to organise a cross-party alliance in the House of Lords to set down a sequence of questions on business rates, a device for keeping the subject in the forefront of legislators’ minds.

Alan Hawkins, who as bira CEO has steered the policy-making process for the past two years, commented: “It is a tribute to bira’s standing that we were able to launch our rates manifesto in Parliament. Today was a very significant

moment in business rates reform and to have such an audience has been extremely encouraging. It shows that bira’s proposed solution to the unfair tax is gaining traction and that the government is looking for a fair and simple solution, which is what we can offer. There is still work to be done and we won’t give up until independent retail businesses are on a level playing field.”

Andrew Goodacre, who succeeded Alan as CEO at the beginning of October after a month-long handover, remarked: “I have been very impressed at the work bira has put in to this proposal, including a meeting at No 10 last August and continuing discussions with Treasury officials. It is a real step forward to have this level of engagement. I know from my own previous experience at other trade associations how difficult it is to secure their attention.”

The event on 11 September was the culmination of two years’ work that involved Mark Radford, bira’s long-standing business rates advisor, on the technical details, and Fiona Cuthbertson, bira’s policy affairs advisor, who has improved the association’s routes of communication with Whitehall and Parliament.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for The Cotswolds, who hosted the event on behalf of bira, said: “I was extremely impressed and encouraged by bira’s proposal. It offers a OCTOBER 2018

BUSINESS RATES REFORM

simple and practical method, which would bring field. Many retail businesses saw an increase in instant relief to many thousands of hard-pressed their rates bill last year, while the average bill retailers, who are the backbone of our country. for Amazon fell by 1.3%. Our proposal would This is an idea whose time is going to come.” redress some of the balance, as an allowance Watched by a number of bira members who would automatically reduce the bill of those serve on its legal and public affairs committee businesses that need the most help.”

While bira’s central desire is for a (LPAC), which steers the association’s politiAmong the voices of support at the meeting, wholesale review of the business rates cal strategy, bira president Surinder Josan, Warren Lomax from Max Publishing and the system, the proposal launched on 11 owner of All Seasons DIY in Smethwick near Greetings Cards Association, whose members’ September represents a much-needed Birmingham, told the audience: “Retail has products are sold almost exclusively in shops, short-term solution to bring immediate evolved over the last decade. New businesses described bira’s initiative as “a fantastic camrelief to thousands of independents. entering the field are pushing the way forward, paign”. Highlighting other problems on the high The plan for business rates reform bringing in new and exciting street, Mike Wood, Tory MP ways to reach customers. The bira's rates for Dudley South, reported asks MPs to consider changing the current £12,000 threshold to an allowance. It is business rates model, which that in his own constituency proposal bira’s belief that an allowance would help was applicable decades ago, three banks had closed in the the majority of small retail businesses and is simply no longer fit for pur- would bring instant past two years, with a predictcould make the difference between them pose. It’s time to apply a new relief to many able impact on footfall that surviving or closing in 2018 and beyond. method of taxation to address had seen two butchers close. thousands of hardRetailers pay nearly one quarter of the the imbalances across the Alluding to the iniquity collective business rates bill, some £7 bricks and mortar and digi- pressed retailers of online retailers having an billion annually, far more than any other tal landscape. In reality bira’s Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP unfair advantage over traindustry. With business rates not being proposals are the only way ditional bricks-and-mortar charged on a business’ profitability, it is of achieving a speedy and practical solution to retailers, Damien Moore, Conservative MP the contention of bira that this creates a this problem, and maybe as soon as this year’s for Southport, suggested that a 1% sales tax on system that fails to place the burden of Budget.” online sales would benefit the Treasury’s coffers taxation on those that are most able to pay.

To illustrate how business rates demands (and allow more room for manoeuvre on busibira's Alan Hawkins said: “While the can stifle the growth of independent businesses, ness rates).

Government offered some help to smaller Surinder related that he has been planning to From Northern Ireland, where a different businesses in the last revaluation, by relocate his business to new premises nearby rates system operates, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, doubling the Small Business Rates Relief that are four times as big as his current shop, but Democratic Unionist Party MP for Lagan Valthreshold from £6,000 to £12,000, (and he is holding off from doing so partly because of ley, observed that many businesses in Ulster tapered relief up to £15,000) this the uncertainty about his rates bill in the future. were going under because of the burdoesn’t help the majority of The effect of the most recent business rates den: “Reform of business rates is retailers, who on average review was highlighted by immediate past presi- long overdue." have a rateable value of dent Vin Vara, who said that across his 12-strong Sir Geoffrey Clifton£34,000.

Tool Shop chain in central London he had had to Brown confirmed that Can you contact your local MP “We propose a close one shop and relocate two others to second- bira’s campaign is gaining to urge him or her to support simple allowance, ahead ary sites in response to hikes in rates valuations. support from MPs and bira’s campaign for a simple of a full review of the Alan Hawkins added: “Bricks and mor- contributing to the debate amendment that would benefit system, using the same tar retailers are already at a disadvantage and on permanent reform of thousands of bira members principles of the personal being asked to compete on an unlevel playing the rates system. immediately? Let us know what

bira’s practical proposal

Get behind bira’s campaign

response you receive via editorial@bira.co.uk

Fighting for business rates reform: Andrew Goodacre, Fiona Cuthbertson, Alan Hawkins, Damien Moore MP, Vin Vara, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Surinder Josan

OCTOBER 2018

allowance applied to income tax, and through this we believe the majority of those businesses struggling with their tax would see a reduction in their rates. All those below the allowance (which could be, for example, £12,000) would be out of the system completely, cutting down the resource needed to process these.” bira believes that an allowance would mean simplification of the relief system.

It would mean that there would be no need for Small Business Rates Relief as there would be a standard application for all businesses across the country, as opposed to the complicated system at the moment, which varies from council to council and currently costs the government £2.6bn.

9

BUSINESS PROFILE

Revitalising Lakeland Leather

Four years into a company turnaround, Martin Foster, CEO of Lakeland Leather, believes in shops, selling online, wholesaling and asking customers to invest financially in the company HOW MUCH DO your customers value your business? Are they big enough fans of your concept to invest their own money to see your future plans come to fruition? That’s the question that the boss of leatherwear specialist and bira member Lakeland Leather, Martin Foster, is asking as it launches a crowdfunding initiative to raise £1m for the next stage of its return to prosperity.

For as little as £10, customers can become part of the company’s development. Those who put in £1,000 or more receive a £300 voucher to spend on a leather jacket, a neat credit card holder and, of course, 30% of their stake back in tax relief. Martin is pleased with the initial reaction.

“We hope to raise 10% to 20% of our £1m target through private means, including from our customers,” Martin explains. “We have posters and leaflets in stores already and we are now testing sending a message to some of our 40,000 yourLakeland card holders.”

If crowdfunding is an innovative approach to taking a business forward, most of the work done since Lakeland went into administration in May 2014 has been good old-fashionable sensible retailing, concentrating on cost management, quality of personnel and product, and having a clear vision for the business.

The company – probably the only leatherwear specialist of its size in the UK – was started in 1955

by Jack Standring as a gifts, artists’ materials and general variety store in the picturesque Lake District town of Ambleside. In the mid-1960s, his son Richard went on a buying trip to the West Country to look at some sheepskin products. He massively over-bought some sheepskin slippers, but when they sold out rapidly a new direction was followed and the business was converted into the Lakeland Sheepskin Centre. Moving into leather jackets was an obvious expansion.

“At that time, a sheepskin coat was expensive

10

and a real status symbol,” says Martin. “Jack’s philosophy was to have excellent quality products at prices accessible for the masses, not just the elite.”

By the early 2000s, by which time Richard Standring was in charge, the business was called Lakeland and had 20-plus branches, as far apart as Portsmouth and Northern Ireland. Favoured locations were tourist towns such as Keswick, York and Chester, which attracted a regular changing clientele. This was important as leather jackets and sheepskins are not frequent repeat purchases.

After the financial crash of 2009, structural problems became clear. “Like many retailers, Lakeland had signed long upward-only leases in its formative years that became too expensive. The customers, the family management team and its company mindset had been getting older. Although retailing was changing, it had not invested in bright young things. Crucially, it had lost its way on product and was trying to sell highfashion womenswear alongside the leathersr.”

A chartered accountant specialising in retail restructuring, Martin was approached by the Lakeland directors to take on the challenge of getting the company working again. Finance director Peter Brookes, who had not worked in retailing before, came on board, as did David Malone, one of the company’s main suppliers and an expert on leather and sheepskin. Richard Standring stayed on as chairman.

The estate of 22 stores was reduced immediately to 18 units, then to the current 15 as leases were renegotiated. The logo was refreshed, the stores were tidied up and frontages repainted.

Added to the team were buying director Hayley Rock, who had worked for Marks & Spencer, Matalan and Boohoo, and merchandise director Rachel Davies, whose career had included stints at JD Sports Group, Tesco and also Matalan.

They brought some much-needed modern think-

ing to the buying and merchandising functions.

“The previous strategy had been to buy large quantities of stock, set it out first at high prices and then clear it with deep discounts,” Martin explains. “It took us three seasons to move away from this position. For the first two seasons we were inevitably going backwards, but by season three we were buying smaller quantities of improved products, offering them at the correct market price and the customer could see the inherent value. We had much less residual stock for the seasonal Sales and so margins were immediately improved.”

Some 95% of Lakeland’s stock is own-label, with only the odd specialist line, such as Robell women’s trousers from Germany, being bought in. About 70% of the sales are to women. Rather than attempting to offer high fashion, Lakeland now concentrates on easy-to-wear casualwear – what used to be known as “soft separates” – which is a far more logical and appropriate complement to leather jackets, the backbone of the business.

The collections are designed in-house in Ambleside by two designers, with input from Hayley, Rachel and their small teams. As part of the repositioning of the product, which had been lowered in quality as the business struggled, some 80% of the suppliers have been changed.

“Having a leather expert like David Malone on board has been vital,” Martin says. “Leather is a very complicated business but we have been determined to get high quality at affordable prices. For example, all our leathers, at every price point, are drum-dyed, which means the colouring goes right through the skin as opposed to just being sprayed on the surface, which is a common practice in the fashion business.”

Another strand of the revitalisation of the product line was to increase the number of handbags and to introduce larger bags suitable for luggage. The new pricing structure has been key. Most handbags retail around £50, although the price stretch is from £30 to £100. On jackets, the main entry level is £99 for a classic cropped biker style. Items selling at £150 to £200 are the biggest category. Prices rise to about £300 for OCTOBER 2018

BUSINESS PROFILE

CEO Martin Foster did not own a leather jacket before he joined Lakeland in 2014 Right: Lakeland stores in (from top) York, Beverley, Kendal, Bowness-onWindermere, Chester

LAKELAND LEATHER Head office: Felldale Retail Ltd, Rothay Road, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0HQ Branches: Ambleside, Beverley, Bownessin-Windermere, Carlisle, Chester, Kendal, Keswick, Northallerton, Southport, York Outlet stores: Bridgend, Cheshire Oaks, Gretna Gateway, Street, Swindon Founded: 1955. Rebranded Lakeland Sheepskin Centre in 1964. Renamed Lakeland in 1982.

Average size of stores: c3,000sq ft.

Head office/warehouse staff: 32.

Store staff: 39 full-timers, 95 part-timers Opening hours: Stores Mon-Sat 9-5.30.

Sun 11-4.

Outlets Mon-Sat 10-8. Sun 10-5 Brands: Own-label accounts for 95%.

Bought-in brands include Robell women’s trousers, Lotus, Caprice and Suave footwear Annual sales: £12m. bira member since 2016  lakelandleather.co.uk  lakelandleather  @LakelandLeather @lakelandleather

OCTOBER 2018

jackets involving more work, such as those with a hood, fake-fur trim and more detailing.

To make a point of difference, the company mainly uses the skins of British sheep, which are moved around the world for processing. The main production centres are India, Pakistan, Turkey and Italy. Sheepskins, at £350 and £1,000, are made mainly in Turkey, although premium styles (at £750-plus) are made in the UK. With 10 high-street stores and five in discount outlets, Lakeland is committed to bricksand-mortar retailing, but for the moment further expansion of the estate is on the back burner as Martin and finance director Peter see a faster return coming from investment in ecommerce.

“We could grow to about 50 stores in the UK, but as it would cost us about £100,000 to shell-fit a unit and another £60,000 to stock it, we prefer to keep our retail overheads where they are and invest in online, where we achieve a faster payback on capital,” says Peter.

In May 2017 the website, which had been running inefficiently since 2008, was brought inhouse (thereby ending a number of onerous service contracts with third-party providers), totally overhauled and given to a team of six to run.

“Online contributes only about 8%-9% of our total sales, but it’s vital to our future,” Mar-

tin asserts. “Buying a leather jacket is an infrequent purchase, but we are selling 25,000 leather jackets a year. We are market leaders in terms of options and we have to let people know this. From an admittedly low base, we have seen online sales grow by 70% in the year since we relaunched.

The site attracts a slightly younger demographic although most customers are still 40-plus – and the sales analysis reveals in which areas we are particularly popular and so where we might want to open a shop in the future. Finally, in our shops we do a lot of sales to foreign tourists, especially Chinese, and I hope we can replicate that online.”

The company’s expertise in omnichannel retailing was recognised earlier this year when Lakeland Leather won the Multichannel Retailer of the Year category in the Drapers Digital Awards, which are open to all fashion retailers.

The judges were impressed with the way Lakeland cross-promoted its online and shop offers.

In another new departure, Lakeland Leather has started to wholesale a handbag collection, with other bira members and independents nationwide the target stockists. After attending the Indx, Home & Gift and Moda trade shows, Martin is pleased with the stockists found and the valuable feedback received but adds “the real test is in the level of repeat orders, of course”.

11

Keep your business growing with ‘greener’ equipment loans An upgrade to LED lighting could save your business £1000’s per year as well as reduce your carbon footprint.

Call David or Frank today for a non obligation quote on 0121 446 6688 We’ve helped hundreds of customers achieve their business goals with our equipment loans.

Other service benefits include:

6.4

A quick decision Easy repayments by standing order Flexible repayment periods of 12-60 months Fixed competitive rates

% APR

typical

£305.25 per month

Typical example based on £10,000 over 36 months

© 2016 bira bank. Registered in England No. 555071. FRN: 204478 BIRA BANK LIMITED is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Finance Services Register No. 204478) Registered office: 225 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UB Registered in England. Company No. 0555071

PAYMENTS SYSTEMS

Cash, cards, mobile devices:

there’s a lot of choice out there!

In his second feature on payments, Paul Rodgers, chairman of payments organisation Vendorcom, brings us up-to-date with the pros and cons of what is available now Choice is good, right?

We want to offer choice and variety to customers: it’s what good retailers do and that doesn’t just apply to the products you sell but also to the way you interact with your customers and the options you offer to them as to how they might pay.

So, it is easy to get caught up with the populist messaging of the payments world that encourages you to be able to take payment by every possible means, grabbing both the millennials’ mobile money and the baby-boomers’ cash and cards.

With the proliferation of payment options, how is a retailer to get a fair picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the vast array of options or make sense of the conflicting and confusing messages about the future of payments?

Mobile payments are little more than iterations of what's been mainstream for a very long time Be careful who you believe The CEO of Visa in Europe stood up at Money2020 in Amsterdam earlier this year and welcomed the brave new cashless world that we are now entering. She pointed to Sweden as the exemplar of the cashless society and there are graphs and statistics to prove it. But such headlines fail to provide the whole picture.

The UK’s New Payment System Operator (NPSO), whose aim is to be the leading retail payments authority, claims that they will create best-in-class payment infrastructure and standards in the UK for the benefit of people everywhere. Such claims, for now, should be taken with a pinch of salt.

In last month’s article I talked about so-called "innovations" like card-based mobile payments, which have few if any real innovative credentials as they are essentially just heavy, metal-andglass replacements for 5gm of plastic. The mobile phone may be ubiquitous, but it is not a foregone conclusion that the future of payments lies there.

OCTOBER 2018

Cash IS king In contrast to what might have been portrayed at Money2020, you can be very sure that cash will be a significant part of the payments landscape for the lifetime of anyone reading this feature.

Of course, cash use is declining and since there are substantial fixed costs associated with the acceptance of cash – reconciliation, counting, securing, counterfeit fraud, loss, banking, etc it is therefore becoming proportionately more expensive to accept.

Few, if any serious retailers will have a strategy to eliminate cash. Since 2.7million people in the UK are entirely reliant on cash, that’s a big chunk of potential customers you would be choosing to disenfranchise.

With costs proportionately increasing, however, investment in efficient cash solutions are crucial. Anything that helps reduce what have previously been thought of as the fixed costs of cash is worth investigating. In Vendorcom, we see some of the most innovative solutions being developed in this area.

I am also increasingly asking the question, ‘Why should retailers have to go to multiple suppliers for their cash and electronic payments acceptance solutions?’

Historically a bank would provide cash and card solutions and it’s about time the fintechs stopped dismissing cash and cards and recognised the benefits they could bring by applying their innovative capability to the cash world.

A run on the bank There has been increasing focus on the directfrom-bank payments in recent months based on the proposals for a New Payment Architecture in the UK. The NPSO claims that its work invigorates the economy and will make the UK the best place to do business in the world. This development of a core payments model to facilitate direct-to-bank payment comes 10 years after other European markets deployed this transformational, non-card-based approach for merchant payments.

Retailers large and small should be examining this closely to evaluate the benefits – not least the claimed absence of chargebacks and irrevocable, instant payments.

Putting my cards on the table Cards and mobile-based card-equivalent payments are here to stay; any message to the contrary is simply whipped-up, revenue-motivated, marketing hyperbole. The cost models for such payment methods are well understood and the UK Payment Systems Regulator’s imminent review of the card acquiring market will undoubtedly see changes in transparency, competitiveness and flexibility.

For anyone getting distracted by thinking mobile payments are innovations, it’s time to take a long hard look at what they really offer.

They are little more than iterations of what’s been mainstream for a very long time; simply card payments with a different form factor. A pen might be different from a quill, but it’s not a printing press. And don’t get me started on Apple Pay, Google Pay and “wallets”!

The core of any merchant payment solutions should therefore have cards at the centre.

Ultimately, it’s your choice!

When it comes to choosing which of the current forms of payment – cash, cards or bank transfer – you should deploy, the answer is all the above in a way that provides an inclusive set of payment options that will accommodate the largest possible group of customers.

The challenge will be that as new forms of payment come along, we’re very poor at dropping historic methods and so it looks like low volumes across multiple channels and form-factors will be the pattern of the foreseeable future.

The best future payment options, particularly for the small and mid-tier retailer, will be those that require no capital expenditure to deploy and incur the lowest possible operating expense with the highest level of consumer adoption. They’ll have to offer a lot to beat cash and cards!

13

-

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Animal

magic Third-generation retailer Nick Robinson is getting ready to celebrate the family business’ 90th anniversary next year.

Old-fashioned service and modern thinking about natural pet nutrition make a winning formula at Robinson’s Pet Store.

URSA THE NEWFOUNDLAND could be described as a sleeping partner in Robinson’s Pet Stores. As bear-like as her name suggests, the huge dog is in the shop every day, usually dozing in the back-office area, but occasionally having a stroll behind the counter.

Familiar as Ursa is to the regulars in this Newcastleupon-Tyne store, not many of them would know that she put the business on to its current direction nine years ago, instigating a radical rethink of the shop’s main product line, pet food. As a pup, she began suffering from distressing itchy skin, a lack of appetite and stomach upsets and her owner Nick Robinson began to suspect that her food – stocked in his own shop – might be the cause.

“In those days we sold what would be regarded as the major ‘good’ pet food brands, but when I started to look closely at their ingredients, I was shocked to see how poor they were. There were too many non-specified ingredients and recipes changed, sometimes as quickly as six months after a product was introduced,” Nick recalls. “We changed Ursa’s diet and saw huge improvements in her health. After I investigated deeper into the subject, I decided to source only from companies that produced better quality pet food.

I couldn’t sell what I wouldn’t give to my own dog.”

Nick’s move coincided with a shift in the pet world towards so-called “natural foods” and a mini-boom in specialist producers of food for dogs, cats and small animals, and even for wild birds. As well as seeking greater quality, Nick also moved away substantially from a lot of brands that are available in supermarkets, the pet store multiples like Pets At Home, and through price-driven online sellers.

The result is that customers to Robinson’s narrow, packed unit in Newcastle’s historic Grainger Market find a line-up of brands that are less familiar and not so over-distributed.

And they are good enough to win the approval of Ursa, the firm’s official “taster and tester”.

14

Having such a clear point of difference to the majors is important on two fronts. Firstly there are plenty of big rivals in the vicinity and secondly Nick has to uphold the reputation for quality and service at the business, founded by his grandfather Ernest Robinson in the same unit in 1929 .

“Within five miles of the city centre there are four large Pets At Home stores, plus the likes of (pets discount store) Jollyes, Wilko, Tesco, the Co-op… So there are plenty of people, although not independents, vying for someone’s pet pound. People come to us, however, because of the trust we have built up over 89 years. We let them know that we are proud of being fiercely independent and we are not tied to any suppliers. Our suppliers also know that if we are prepared to drop brand leaders that don’t live up to our standards, then we will do the same for any other company that is prepared to sacrifice quality for price.

“What we sell generally has a higher price point than supermarket brands but I don’t obsessively watch other prices. I concentrate on doing what we do as best we can.

That’s part of our ongoing commitment to our customers.”

Getting the nutrition offer right is crucial as 65% of Robinson’s turnover is generated by food, with treats contributing 20% and toys and accessories taking care of the remainder. Across the sectors, sales to dog owners account for 50%-plus of the sales, with cats’ products on 25%. The demand from owners of small animals, like rabbits and hamsters, is growing, says Nick, while aquatics is “steady”.

Products for reptiles are on offer, but this area is now largely handled by specialist traders.

Coinciding with his own interest in sourcing the best foods, Nick has noticed that owners are willing to spend more on their pets. While the number of transactions in the shop is down over the past 10 years or so, there is a markedly higher value per transaction.

“More than ever, people do treat their pets as full 

Nick Robinson completely overhauled his pet food offer nine years ago to take the business in a new direction

Photographs: Eric Musgrave

THE BIG INTERVIEW

family members, not just a ‘possession’. For example, Christmas gifts for pets is a big seasonal boost for us,” Nick explains. “Being located in a city-centre covered market, from the start we have had working-class customers as our core group, and I have found them happy to pay more for better quality when it comes to products. Price is not the only, or even the major, criterion. A lot of the suppliers we deal with don’t sell to the big guys and the discounters, so price comparison is not really an issue.”

The margins on big corporate pet food brands are slim, typically hovering around 5%-10%. The smaller, more selective premium suppliers Robinsons now favours offer margins nearer 30%50%, while on accessories between 80%-100% is typical. Nick keeps on top of the 14,000 options in his cleverly merchandised shop thanks to the Premier Epos system he installed in 2014. Designed specifically for pet shops, it has allowed Nick more time to do more important things than locating items in his stockrooms.

“As well as the shop, we have five stockrooms above us and on an adjoining balcony. I am pretty well-organised, but we were all spending a lot of time running around to find stock as we don’t have a lot of room in the shop itself. The epos system cost me about £13,500, which included five i-Pod hand-scanners so each member of the staff could have one, as I didn’t want customers to have

16

to wait for answers to stock questions. As a result of the better stock control, the biggest advantage is that I have more time to focus on other things, such as finding new products.”

Online research enables Nick to source globally these days and he prides himself of getting ahead of the curve on most new trends. Antler chews, venison treats and ostrich bones for dogs are among the items he gave a chance to before the pack (no pun intended). “Being independent, we can give things a try whenever we like,” he says, “and given our long tradition, reps know they will get a good hearing from us when they have new products. There is a lot of trust between us and the salesmen – we are happy for them to send us trial products without them coming up to see us.”

Robinson’s Pet Store has been in the same position in Grainger Market, which was constructed in 1835 and is now a Grade I listed building, since August 1929 when Ernest Robinson, then a butcher in the market, was disappointed that a corn chandler at Stall No 187 did not have the birdseed he’d ordered. When he complained to the saleswoman and said such poor service would not happen if he owned the store, she told him he could prove his point by buying the business, which was up for sale.

Having taken on the narrow corner-unit shop, within a couple of years Ernest added the adjacent balcony, which had been occupied by a

furrier. There are some fine images from the early days on Robinson’s cheerful and attractive – and non-transactional – website. By the late 1940s, Ernest had been succeeded by his sons, Edgar and Kenneth, who is Nick’s father.

Nick, who is 54, joined the business virtually straight from school and took over from the second generation about 10 years ago. His wife Pauline has been part for the staff for a dozen years or so and their three children all have worked in the business at some time. Currently 27-year-old son Adam is the fourth-generation man behind the counter, along with saleswoman Maz, who has racked up six years’ service, and Liam, who maintains a family connection by being the boyfriend of Nick and Pauline’s daughter Lucy. She has moved on from the world of pets but kept the family tradition of animal care by becoming a chef specialising in vegan cooking.

Over its 89 years the business had other satellite stores in and around the Newcastle area.

A short-lived second unit in Grainger Market was closed in 2012 when the original shop was remodelled to allow more stock to be displayed and now Nick is very contented to stay with the original unit only. Despite having had a website since around 2000, he has no desire to sell online: “We have looked at it, of course, but it would dilute what we do and be negative to the core business.”

The neat current version of the website, which OCTOBER 2018



THE BIG INTERVIEW

announces Robinson’s as “The North’s leading natural pet food store”, was created by Nick using the online tool Wix around four years ago.

“This option gave me a lot of resources for a small annual cost,” he explains.

Also strongly stated on the site is Robinson’s policy not to deal in animals or birds: “We do not sell any animals and our varied and long history in animal care leads us to strongly believe that animals should not be sold in pet shops. PETS ARE NOT PRODUCTS.” The family stopped selling live animals as long ago as 1985.

Having been established just before the Great Depression of the 1930s, Robinson’s has seen a few ups and downs in trading since 1929. Nick admits that changing market conditions have been noticeable in recent years. “Over the past couple of years there have been a combination of factors to deal with. The Market (which is controlled by Newcastle city council) is seeing more food stalls opening, which means people are coming in at eating times but not so often at other times. There has been a decline in the number of people in the city centre generally.

“While we have kept the majority of our core customers, and do get a lot of passing trade, there are an increasing number of distractions for the ‘casual’ customers’ money.

“Our response has been to work harder and smarter. Backed by the epos system, I have cut OCTOBER 2018

down on the stock of things we sell only occasionally, especially high-priced items that tie up capital. This in turn has freed up space to allow us to carry more of our best-selling lines, which also allows us to buy at better prices. We are also more alert to add-on sales. I invested in a dog tag engraving machine so that when someone buys a new collar, we can offer them a tag at the same time, which is engraved within a couple of minutes. The other added bonus is that in the couple of minutes that the customer is waiting they will quite often keep browsing in the store and spend a bit more. It paid for itself in a year.

"It’s even more important that we keep bringing in interesting and relevant new products. And we still do the free delivery service within 10 miles of the store for any order of £25 or over.”

Although he describes himself as a “control freak”, maybe Nick Robinson is better described as a switched-on independent retailer. His is an excellent example of a business that has kept its core values of service and expert knowledge but has updated them for the modern consumer.

Nick believes that Robinson’s is the longestestablished family-owned pet store in the UK. As fourth-generation son Kane, who used to work in the shop, became a father to a son, Shay, last year, and his brother Adam welcomed a baby daughter, Penelope, at the end of August, that record looks set to run for some time yet.

The products may have changed but the service levels at Robinson’s are at the same high level as they were when Nick’s grandfather Ernest started the shop in 1929.

ROBINSON’S PET STORE No 187, Grainger Market, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 5QN Founded: 1929 Store size: 447sq ft sales area & 1,000sq ft storage Staff: 5 full-timers, 1 part-timer Opening hours: Mon-Sat 9-5.30 Brands: For food: Acana, Canagan, Natures Menu, Nutriment, Orijen, Supreme.

For non-food,: Ancol Pet Products, Beaphar, Fluff & Tuff, Johnson’s Veterinary Products, Planet Dog toys, Venidog. bira member since 2005  robinsonspetstore.com/  @RobinsonsPetStore @Robinsonspet @robinsonspetstore

17

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Have you made the switch to a greener lighting solution?

WHY MAKE THE switch to LED lighting? Most indoor lighting systems in retailing are still based on T8 fluorescent tubes, an inefficient technology. The average life expectancy of a fluorescent bulb is 10,000-50,000 hours, while that of an LED bulb is 50,000+ hours. To put that into perspective an LED bulb left on for 24 hours a day would need to be replaced only after five years.

The development of LED technology is constantly evolving and improving, with new products being launched every six months. Many of us now have smart meters and devices in our homes, so why stop there? The development of smart technology in the lighting sector can be used to control yourshop's lighting and connectivity, control colour effects, adjust brightness, monitor energy consumption, customer visits and data storage.

If all bira members switched their current 50w halogen spotlights to 7w LED lights, the savings per year would be: l9 ,030 kWh per shop; lT otal savings across bira membership of 58m kWh; lR educed Co2 emissions of

18

32,000 tonnes across bira membership lT otal savings on the collective energy bill of £5.8m, or £900 for each bira member (Statistics based on upgrading 50 lamps per shop, switched on for 4,200 hours).

This year bira bank has partnered up with the Energy Savings Trust, which has over 25 years’ experience in energy efficiency.

This partnership provides advice and support to bira members, enabling them to save money, reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of lighting in their businesses.

The main barrier stopping retailers from making the switch to LED lighting is the initial upfront cost of the investment. With a bira bank equipment loan not only will you receive fast, friendly personal service, you could borrow between £2,500 and £250,000 at a discounted rate of 6.4% APR and spread the costs over 12 to 60 months.

Contact David Pears or Frank Burton on 0121 446 6688 or visit birabank.co.uk to get your quote today.

OCTOBER 2018

BREXIT REPERCUSSIONS

Don’t mention the B word!

At 11pm on Friday March 29 2019, the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union. As the negotiations drag on, what effect, if any, is this saga having on retail? And what effect might it have once a deal is finally done? We asked some members for their thoughts.

Clockwise from top: Duncan Murray, Jonathan Barley, Declan Butler, Kevin Bellwood

Brexit is not helpful, but internet shopping, rates, pensions, parking etc are much more significant factors which will continue to affect us Jonathan Barley

OCTOBER 2018

AT A&M BARLEY, a hardware shop in of Butler & Sweatman, a designer home and Bognor Regis, Sussex, Jonathan Barley said: gift shop, remarked: “The adverse movement “I don’t believe that Brexit has had any direct in sterling has been an issue for us, as we are specific effects on our business and how we oper- primarily importing from Eurozone counate so far. Indirectly though I am sure that it is tries like France, Netherlands or Belgium. We adversely affecting the overall economic situa- are now starting to look at domestic supplition. In particular, it is affecting currency vola- ers. There is not much disposable income and tility, which pushes up prices, and the general we’ve noticed that customers have shifted from uncertainty, which hits consumer confidence. I premium products to more affordable options would expect this to continue and worsen in the and are ready to look them up until they find run-up to and after Brexit. the cheapest alternative. This means that we “While Brexit is certainly not helpful, the are constantly competing with online retailers other factors of internet shopping, rates, pen- and this combined with the economic effects of sions, parking etc, are all much more significant Brexit are detrimental to our business and those issues, which will continue to affect us long after of fellow independents.”

Brexit. It is these issues that we need to continue Kevin Bellwood of Roobarb, a lifestyle to focus on.” and gift shop with branches in Smethwick, Duncan Murray of Duncan Murray Wines in Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury, said: “We are Market Harborough, Leicesternot currently doing anything different shire, commented: “We have but we’ll have to in the future as we How is Brexit been importing less because it buy some products directly from affecting your has been slower moving in the Europe. Certainly, this year has business? How do last couple of years and we’ve been a very tough one for us you think things will be been buying more from small and most of our retailer friends after 29 March next year?

UK distributors to try to ease and colleagues are finding it Share your views with our cashflow. We’ve been trychallenging too. Whether it’s bira members via ing to buy little and often where Brexit-related is hard to tell. editorial@bira.co.uk possible. Footfall is down by 199 “It seems people have tightpeople since April 2018. ened their belts and are possi“People are buying less but generbly hesitant of what lies in the ally are paying a bit more. Our average spend future. With all the negative news regarding has gone up but this could be the knock-on of this massive story, people are possibly saying a weaker sterling that has increased our prices. to themselves, ‘we will sit this one out and buy Saturday used to be the main trading day but we only essentials until the politicians can agree are finding Friday is often busier than Saturday. a strategy and go with it’. If only we had some I have no idea why this is. I was just talking to continuing positive news to broadcast, things one supplier who said in her experience retail may start to pick up. trade across the UK appears to be around 10% “Footfall is at its lowest and customers are down on 2017, even in London. more price-oriented than ever before. Our busi“Everybody seems to be suffering with ness is in an affluent area, in which people have reduced footfall and also from business rates. disposable income, but they still shop around We’re seeing more local traders getting together for the lowest price. As we are not located on to promote the street or the town. More traders the high street, we’ve started selling coffee and are talking about what to do to help each other.” cake to attract more footfall and move towards In Ledbury, Herefordshire, Declan Butler becoming a retail destination.”

19

Replicating the barista experience

Consumers increasingly know what good coffee tastes like and they want to replicate the barista experience at home. This is helping to drive sales of proper coffee and of the various machines used to make it. According to research by Nestlé, the reason given by 65% of people who intend to buy a new coffee machine is “to have a better coffee”.

Whether opting for a bean-to-cup machine, a pump machine, a capsule or pod option, or traditional filter coffee apparatus, consumers are savvier than ever before and will be looking to retailers for advice.

The team at De’Longhi shared their top merchandising tips with us for selling coffee machines to your customers: lD isplay manufacturer literature. This helps customers find the machine that best suits their needs. There are so many machines available that you need to be sure the customer leaves the shop with the machine that’s right for them. lD raw attention to the best machines. Over half (52%) of consumers consider the quality of the coffee machine in relation to the price when selecting their machine. lD eploy manufacturers’ point-of-sale material and ambient spotlights to draw the customer’s eye to the top models. lD o demonstrations. Ease of use and flavour are among the most important selling points and demonstration is the key to relaying these benefits and to trading up customers. So, if you don’t already do so, organise some in-store demonstrations. The chance for consumers to interact with and touch products is a very compelling route to purchase. Don’t forget to let the customers try the end result so they understand they can create real coffee at home. lC ross-sell. Where coffee machines are part of a broader product range (for example, matching-design toasters and kettles), display them with the matching appliances to maximise link-sales opportunities. Some eye-catching displays can be created this way. lA im to make linked sales. An essential bit of kit for any budding barista is a coffee grinder. Try to stock some so your customer is all kitted out to serve coffee-shop drinks at home. lO ffer extra information. The De’Longhi Coffee Expert mobile app provides resources including recipes, information on coffee’s origins and coffee-making tutorials. It also features a fun ‘coffee calculator’, which illustrates how much money can be saved by making coffee shop favourites at home.

Product news October

20

All the right options with Coffee Passion The Coffee Passion range from Villeroy & Boch has all the right choices for coffee lovers. All the cups have a rounded base and a large distance between the base and the rim to permit perfect pouring. The ceramic containers are ideal for storing ground coffee or beans so they retain their aroma. The coffee bean container has a handy spout for pouring and the ground coffee container has a hidden compartment for the ceramic measuring spoon. The sugar container also has an integrated ceramic spoon.

The double-walled ceramic coffee filter has curved water flow channels and rounded outflow to promote the aroma, while the double-walled milk jug is perfect for

foaming milk and keeping it hot.

All dishwasher-safe, everything is in attractive boxes for gifting. bira members will receive an introductory discount of 25% on orders received by 14 December. Carriage paid on orders of £150 and above.

07831 146060 / pauline.hinkley @villeroy-boch.co.uk villeroy-boch.co.uk

Clean up with Nespresso To keep Nespresso machines sparkling clean, the new Caffenu Cleaning Capsules release a unique foaming agent inside the brewing chamber that gets rid of old coffee oils and residue in just two minutes, so enhancing the flavour and aroma of the coffee. The brand-new Caffenu Eco Descaler removes lime scale and calcium deposits to ensure the

hygiene of your machine’s internal components. Made from organic and readily biodegradable phosphate-free ingredients, the descaler is appropriate for any coffee machine, kettle and urn, and should be used every 3-6 months.

01488 686572 sales@eddingtons.co.uk eddingtons.co.uk

Enjoy premium coffee taste with Jura Specialising in bean-to-cup technology, Jura is a Swiss luxury coffee machine manufacturer.

Designed and engineered in Switzerland, each handcrafted appliance offers a range of speciality coffees, intelligent technology and stunning design.

To create a premium coffee experience any time of the day, all it takes is the touch of a button.

Visit the flagship Jura store at 148 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5PN / uk.jura.com

OCTOBER 2018

Would bira members like your products?

CONTACT SIMONE ADAMS ON 0121 446 6688 EXT 259 OR EMAIL SIMONE.ADAMS@BIRA.CO.UK

Enjoy all sorts of hot beverages with Artesano

Wonder Wipes - the wipe that works wonders

Artesano stands for pure, clearlydefined design and its Hot Beverages range has everything needed to enjoy tea, coffee and cocoa. The double-wall cup, for example, will keep coffee warm for longer. All the dishwasher-safe cups and tumblers are packed in pairs in attractive boxes for gifting. On

The most stubborn and troublesome spills and stains are no problem for Everbuild Multi-Use Wonder Wipes. They are ideal for cleaning hands, tools and surfaces of sealant and adhesive, as well as wet and semi-cured paint, bitumen, expanding foam, oil, grease and much more. They are the per-

orders received by 14 December, bira members will receive an introductory discount of 25%.

Carriage paid on orders of £150 and above.

07831 146060 pauline.hinkley@villeroy-boch. co.uk villeroy-boch.co.uk

Touch to taste with CI Touch by Melitta An all-rounder of a bean-to-cup coffee machine, the CI Touch by Melitta has a one-touch function and a new touch user panel. Four variations classic café crème, cappuccino, latte macchiato, espresso – are available, while six more specialty coffees can be made via the recipe book function. The Bean Select dual-chamber bean storage compartment has space for two bean types and the My Coffee memory function saves favourites for up to four people. The machine is available in silver or black. The retail price is £999.99; bira members will receive an introductory discount of 25% on orders received by 14 December. Lead time is 10 working days.

01952 671 073 melitta.co.uk

fect cleaning wipe when no water is available on site. Wonder Wipes contain a powerful antibacterial additive to kill bacteria. They are available in a 100-wipe trade tub, a 300-wipe giant tub and a bucket containing 500 wipes.

0113 240 2424 everbuild.co.uk

DIY fitting with BurgCam professional CCTV Designed specifically for the DIY install market, the BurgCam Wi-Fi range of video surveillance systems offers a choice of zoom, dome, bullet and indoor cameras, all able to record directly onto an SD card and use as standalone units. Super HD 2K resolution, face detection/video analytics and the option to pair up to six cameras with a network recorder makes the BurgCam Wi-Fi range perfect for most home, small business and

retail installations. The cameras are accessible remotely via the BurgCam app, which can also receive notifications and alerts.

01274 395 333 / burg.biz/uk

Gear up for autumn with Snickers Workwear

It’s time for proper coffee with Judge Making the perfect brew begins with the beans. With its clean lines the Judge Coffee Grinder delivers the ideal grounds to suit any coffee maker. For brewing, look to one of the Judge cafetières. Made from Borosilicate glass, in polished, OCTOBER 2018

copper, brushed or anthracite finishes, these cafetières are very stylish, making them the perfect partner for Judge double-walled glass coffee cups.

0117 940 0000 / horwood.co.uk sales@horwood.co.uk

It’s hard work on site when the weather starts to get worse in the autumn. That’s why Snickers Workwear continues to improve its working clothes with brand-new weatherproof stretch trousers and jackets. The new and extended range of AllroundWork and FlexiWork jackets include waterproof and Hi-Vis garments for both men and women to keep wearers warm, dry and visible in rain, drizzle, hail or snow. With great fit and superb value for money, they’ll be first choice for outside work that demands maximum comfort, mobility and protection.

01484 854788 info@snickersworkwear.co.uk snickersworkwear.co.uk

21

DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT

WITH HIDDEN CHARGES FOR YOUR

CARD PROCESSING BIRA AND GLOBAL PAYMENTS HAVE BUILT A TRUSTED WORKING RELATIONSHIP OVER 17 YEARS AND AS PART OF THIS RELATIONSHIP ONE THING YOU CAN BE SURE OF IS THAT GLOBAL PAYMENTS PROVIDE TRANSPARENT PRICING.

NO HIDDEN FEES

Everything you will have to pay is clearly presented on your service schedule and Global Payments will answer all of your questions about your fees, so there are no nasty surprises when your bill arrives each month.

As well as being clear on pricing you’ll also get access to other membership benefits should you switch to Global Payments including:

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS No separate authorisation fees

Preferential rates

No setup fee (normally £150)

Access to a cashback facility

Next day crediting* with cleared funds if you bank with HSBC plc

Terminal rental fees waived for the first 3 months if you’re new to Global Payments

LOOKING TO SWITCH? Give Global Payments a call on 0800 731 8921** quoting BIRA

*Maximum limit applies, call 0121 446 6688 opt.1 for more information. **Lines are open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday except Bank Holidays Global Payments is HSBC’s preferred supplier for card processing in the UK. Global Payments is a trading name of GPUK LLP. GPUK LLP is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2009 (504290) for the provision of payment services and under the Consumer Credit Act (714439) for the undertaking of terminal rental agreements.

GPUK LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England number OC337146. Registered Office: 51 De Montfort Street, Leicester, LE1 7BB. The members are Global Payments U.K. Limited and Global Payments U.K. 2 Limited. Service of any documents relating to the business will be effective if served at the Registered Office.

Issued by Global Payments, 51 De Montfort Street, Leicester, LE1 7BB. GP588

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

A shop is nothing without its staff. Yet finding good people is getting harder and it can be frustrating when you invest your time and energy in training a new employee and they end up leaving.

So how do you keep your best staff? We asked four of our service providers for ideas about attracting and retaining the best.

Investing in your people bira bank

Invest in your employees’ futures Your staff are able to save a little or a lot with a bira bank regular savings account. It needs just a £25 deposit to open an account and then your staff can pay in anything from £25 to £500 a month by standing order. They enjoy easy instant access and up to two withdrawals per year. Interest is paid half-yearly.

Visit bira.co.uk/services/bank/

bira insurance

Look after your people’s lifestyles Encouraging leisure activities is now an important part of providing a happy and stable work place. Working days have increased and so has the need to have an alternative area of focus that recharges the mind and body.

That’s one of the reasons why the number of UK marinas now exceeds 550, catering for nearly 100,000 private watercraft from yachts to small motor cruisers and narrow boats. Static caravans and lodges are booming too with more than 360,000 across the country. Additionally, there are 550,000 touring caravans in the UK. Each of these lifestyle leisure pursuits needs time away from the work place and savvy employers know that donating time to enjoy them pays dividends. As does listening to the needs of the employees and providing them with benefits in OCTOBER 2018

partnership with companies that can protect the employee’s pride and joy. This includes security devices, services and specialist insurance, such as the one provided by bira insurance in partnership with Towergate Insurance.

Visit bira.co.uk/services/bira-insurance/

bira legal

Investing in the training of your employees is no longer a luxury – it’s a must!

Training can boost employee engagement levels, improve performance and help retain key talent.

It can also ensure your employees’ skills are up to date and fill in any skills gaps, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Carrying out in-house training sessions or using online tools can be a beneficial way to equip your employees with essential knowledge. Have a look at bira’s training courses at bira.co.uk.

If you do pay out for external training courses, however, you can take measures to protect your business’ interests. You can, for example, enter into a training fee agreement with the employee so that if they leave within a certain period of completing the training, they need to pay back the costs. So if they leave while the course is ongoing or up to six months after, they pay 100% and if they leave between six and nine months after completion, they pay 75%.

Cycles UK

Make your employees happier and healthier.

Research has shown employees who regularly cycle to work take fewer days off sick and are happier, more positive and more engaged at work. It can also build team spirit with lots of workplace teams participating in charity events.

Encouraging cycling also shows you care about the environment, building on your reputation among local communities, while making your business more sustainable.

The Cycle to Work scheme is a government tax break designed to get more people out of their cars and on to two wheels.

With very little paperwork or admin, you can cut your employees’ tax bill as well as yours (by up to 13.8%). Additionally it saves your employees 25%-39% on the price of a new bike, and they spread the cost over 12 months.

For details, visit bira.co.uk/services/cycle-to-work/

To find out more, contact bira legal on 0345 450 0937 or email bira@elliswhittam.com

23

Four benefits to start using today As a bira member, you have access to benefits that are typically only available to bigger businesses. Make the most of your membership by checking you are using the four services below:

Legal support

Unlimited support and advice on employment law & HR, health & safety, tax & VAT and commercial & general law. Visit bira.co.uk/ bira-legal for the numbers to call

Card processing rates

Preferential rates usually reserved for big businesses with average member savings of £516*. Request a card rates review at bira.co.uk/card-processing

Specialist retail insurance

Insurance that’s designed for independent retailers. Let us know your renewal month at bira.co.uk/bira-insurance and you’ll receive a quote prior to your renewal

To start using these services contact the membership team or visit the website 0121 446 6688 opt. 1 membership@bira.co.uk bira.co.uk

Business banking

30% cheaper tariffs than standard business banking*, plus next day crediting when using bira’s card processing service. View our banking tariff at bira.co.uk/business-banking

*T&C’s available at bira.co.uk/terms-and-conditions bira membership ad A5 - existing members - Oct BMM.indd 1

03/09/2018 15:59:05

SPARKLING GREY MULTIFUNCTIONAL COOKWARE SET

ULTIMATE VERSATILITY & OPTIMAL SPACE SAVING Click

TEFAL INGENIO ELEGANCE - COMPLETE 13 PIECE PAN SET CONTENTS: 22/28cm frying pans, 16/20cm saucepans, 24cm sautépan, 26cm wok, 16/20/24cm glass lids, 16/20cm hermetic lids and 2 removable handles.

COOK IT

24

BAKE IT

SERVE IT

STORE IT

www.epeinternational.com orders2@epeinternational.com Tel: 0844 800 8055

OCTOBER 2018

COUNTERPOINT / DES COUNT

Who cares about the high street?

Des Count, our man in the gift shop, is fast losing his sense of humour thanks to business rates, mad local councils and a government that doesn’t care about independent retailers

THIS COLUMN WOULD normally have taken a lighthearted look at our wonderful independent retail industry and hopefully brought a smile into your day, but all the lightheartedness is slowly being sucked out of me.

Despite starting the year with optimism and fairly decent trading in January, this financial year has been the worst on record for us. Footfall is down massively and money through the till has hit an all-time low since the early part of the year. We are not alone. Every one of our neighbours, fellow traders and suppliers are all being hit. And hit hard.

One independent trader said to me recently: “It’s though the tap has just been turned off.”

This lack of footfall and money across the counter couldn’t have come at a worse time for us all. Increases in business rates, rent, utility bills and the cost of our products all play their part in the squeeze. With less money coming in, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the longterm effects if it continues.

We have local factors to tackle too. Our council decided it was a good idea to dig up the road for three months at the beginning of the year to put in new pavements and create a one-way temporary road system. Someone at the council told the local press that the road was closed, and guess what, people thought our businesses were closed too and they didn’t come visiting.

Additionally, we’ve suffered what seems to have been the longest, coldest and most miserable of all winters, including two weekends where we had to close because of snow, robbing us of our best trading days of the week. We then had the hottest summer on record in which it was too hot to shop and a World Cup during which people spent their money on beer and food.

All told, it’s been a rotten year thus far.

A long list of multiples, from the premium end to discount stores, are finding it tough too.

They all blame the same factors as we do, but they have the clout to negotiate lower rents. As a lone independent, we don’t and won’t get much sympathy from the landlord.

Just before last Christmas a friend of mine opened a high-street shop. He has now been hit with a massive business rates bill, which he is

struggling to pay under the current trading conditions. His business is so new he doesn’t have that regular customer base to get him through the tough times.

He paid £10k for his deposit and legal fees before he even got the keys. His local council has just announced increased charges in local car parks, so he is struggling to keep positive as he feels all the cards are stacked against him.

He isn’t alone. Many retailers I speak to all feel the same. Some say local and national government don’t care about the high street.

One thing we can shout about is business rates, which are crippling existing businesses like ours, as well as stifling new business. bira is continuing to lobby government on this (see pages 8-9), but I believe there needs to be some common sense and clever out-of-the-box thinking, which could in the mediumto-long-term generate more revenue for the Treasury.

Ker-ching!

There are many empty shops across the UK and we all know people who would like to open a business on the high street, but the initial costs are prohibitive. So why not let them have a twoyear grace period from business rates to help the business grow, along with a statutory three-month non-rent agreement for independents, with possibly a graded upwards rise for the next three to six month?

It takes a long time for a retail business to develop and grow, for people to get familiar with you and for you in turn to build a strong customer base. My idea could bring the high street back to life overnight, adding many more independent shops, and developing a Destination High Street that people would want to shop in.

A local high street, not 20 miles away from me, has been left derelict because the shortsighted council granted permission for two huge shopping complexes with free parking, less than a mile away. That council is now desperately trying to bring life back to its desolate town centre.

Forget it, it ain’t gonna happen.

Guess what? While writing this piece I have just read in our local newspaper that our local council will be drastically increasing parking charges from October.

You just couldn’t make it up.

One independent trader said to me recently: “It’s though the tap has just been turned off.”

Have your say Would you like to share your views and experiences with the bira community? We welcome contributions like Des Count's. You can write under your own name or under a pseudonym. You can contribute regularly or occasionally. If you are interested, please email editorial@bira.co.uk

OCTOBER 2018

25

part of the SUPREME IMPORTS family

NEW LOW PRICES ON

LED LAMPS

AVAILABLE IN WARM WHITE AND DAYLIGHT AVAILABLE EARLY OCTOBER S-CODE

WATTAGE

CAP

LUMEN

S13598 S13599 S13600 S13601

3W (Eq35W) 3W (Eq35W) 5W (Eq50W) 5W (Eq50W)

GU10 GU10 GU10 GU10

235lm 250lm 345lm 370lm

S13602 S13603 S13604 S13605 S13606 S13607 S13608 S13609

6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W)

B22 B22 B15 B15 E27 E27 E14 E14

470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm

KELVIN

FINISH

DIMMABLE

PRICE

3,000k 6,500K 3,000k 6,500K

White White White White

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

£0.63 £0.63 £0.67 £0.67

3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K

Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

£0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73

3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K

Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

£0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73 £0.73

3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K 3,000K 6,500K

Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal Opal

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

£0.75 £0.75 £0.75 £0.75 £0.85 £0.85 £0.85 £0.85 £1.60 £1.60 £1.60 £1.60

3,000K 3,000K 3,000K 3,000K

Opal Opal Opal Opal

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

£1.17 £1.20 £1.43 £1.58

GU10

GOLF

CANDLE S13610 S13611 S13612 S13613 S13614 S13615 S13616 S13617

6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W) 6W (Eq40W)

B22 B22 B15 B15 E27 E27 E14 E14

470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm

S13618 S13619 S13620 S13621 S13622 S13623 S13624 S13625 S13626 S13627 S13628 S13629

5.5W (Eq40W) 5.5W (Eq40W) 5.5W (Eq40W) 5.5W (Eq40W) 9.6W (Eq60W) 9.6W (Eq60W) 9.6W (Eq60W) 9.6W (Eq60W) 14W (Eq100W) 14W (Eq100W) 14W (Eq100W) 14W (Eq100W)

B22 B22 E27 E27 B22 B22 E27 E27 B22 B22 E27 E27

470lm 480lm 470lm 480lm 806lm 820lm 806lm 820lm 1,521lm 1,560lm 1,521lm 1,560lm

S13630 S13631 S13632 S13633

R39 4W (Eq30W) R50 6.2W (Eq40W) R63 7.8W (Eq50W) R80 10.5W (Eq60W)

E14 E27 E27 E27

GLS

REFLECTOR 320lm 470lm 630lm 806lm

*Terms and conditions apply. Offers are only available when invoiced through bira direct.

Contact your local rep for details on full range. Offers not available in Northern Ireland.

4 Beacon Road . Ashburton Road West . Trafford Park . Manchester M17 1AF

Call: 0161 786 0113

email: sales@brand-essentials.co.uk

Fax: 0844 583 4848 online: www.supreme-imports.co.uk

The membership magazine of the British Independent Retailers Association Published 10 times a year by bira publishing Editor Eric Musgrave 07702 628848 eric@ericmusgrave.co.uk Design Alan Bingle 07949 024737 alan@forty6design.com PA, senior communications & PR officer Kate Godber 0121 446 3730 kate.godber@bira.co.uk Multimedia sales executive Simone Adams 0121 446 6688 Ext 259 simone.adams@bira.co.uk All advertising and editorial enquiries editorial@bira.co.uk Printed by Stephens & George, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

bira, 225 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UB Tel 0121 446 6688 Fax 0121 446 5215 www.bira.co.uk bira national president 2018-19 Surinder Josan, All Seasons DIY, Smethwick CEO Andrew Goodacre Finance director Beverley Long

Do you have a story to tell us?

WE HAVE BEEN publishing bira magazine for more than two years. This edition is issue 21. This is your magazine and we are always on the hunt for members with a good story to tell.

If you’ve recently invested in your business, have a new look, are doing something different, have reached a milestone, are doing great things for charity, or if you’re working with other retailers to reinvent your high street, we want to hear from you.

Maybe you have a problem you’d like to share with other bira members, who might have a solution for you. Get in touch.

As well as our much-loved mainstream or traditional members, we also love to celebrate

and promote the weird and wonderful, so if your business is doing something a bit different, there is a place for you in this magazine.

There is so much to learn from other members and by sharing your experiences you are contributing to the success of other retailers, which in these tough trading times is vital.

Plus, it is a great PR opportunity for your business and who knows, you might end up on the front of the bira membership magazine very soon!

Contact us at editorial@bira.co.uk with your news.

If you’d like to know more about bira direct, a free service to bira members, register your interest today at biradirect.co.uk or call 0121 446 6688

Heather and Alan Drew, owners of Special Times, in Rubery, Worcestershire, joined bira in May this year. They told us: “We are excited to be celebrating this month our first anniversary of taking over Special Times. We are proud to be one of the largest independent greetings card retailers in the UK. We also stock a massive selection of giftware, jewellery, trophies and awards, which we engrave, and we also have a jewellery repair service. A fellow retailer - Toms Hardware could not speak highly enough of bira, so we decided to join. This has been a great decision as we are now able to use the preferential supplier rates through bira direct and the legal services.”

Find out more about Heather and Alan’s business at facebook.com/STimesRubery/

Commercial director Jeff Moody

Welcome the newest members to our bira community bira membership magazine incorporates bira alert, Hardware Today, Cookshop, Housewares & Tabletop and Pet Product Focus. If you would like to reproduce anything from bira member magazine, please contact the editorial team for permission.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the material we publish, bira publishing cannot accept legal liability for any errors or omissions, nor can they accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers or contributors. Unless specifically stated, goods or services mentioned are not formally endorsed by bira. Views of the contributors are not necessarily those of bira.

All rights reserved. © 2018

OCTOBER 2018

A P Bearings & Agric, Forfar, Angus; As Nature Intended, with branches in Chiswick, Stratford, Ealing, Spitalfields, Wandsworth and Central London; At Home Pizza, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire; Best Health Food Shop, with branches in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and Shorehamby-Sea, Sussex; Bona, Milton Keynes, Bucks; Celtic & Co, Newquay, Cornwall; Dress Code Nine, Kelvedon, Essex; Evolution Fireworks, Milton Keynes, Bucks; Latitude Clothing Company, Brixham, Devon; Mendip Rural Services, Binegar, Somerset; Merchant’s Jewellers, Derby; Mooch in Marlow, Marlow, Bucks; Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shop, Marlow, Bucks, Mustique by Natasha, Chester; Runactive Sports Fitness, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex; Sacred Heart Hardware & DIY, Crowborough, Sussex; Saffir, Inverness; Sangha Newsagents, Cradley Heath, West Midlands; SJH Machinery, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset; Spiffy, Carmarthen; Store Twenty, West Bromwich, West Midlands; The Islay Shop, Isle Of Islay, Argyll; Time Bomb, Croydon, Greater London; Unique Hair Studio, Bracknell, Berkshire

27

THE LAST WORD

I took a multi-media marketing course run by the local college to learn how to attract younger customers to the shop between £5 and £12 a ball. Patterns sell for about £3.50 and needles are between £2.75 and £5.95.

I also design and make things myself that I sell in the shop, like babies’ wool-and-alpaca bootees at £7.50, hats and scarves from £20 and knitted felted headbands and bags from £15-£25.

Q

Angie Kay

THE NEEDLE WORKS, BERWICK-UPON-TWEED

Angie Kay is proof that it’s never too late to become a retailer. She has turned her passion for knitting into a business that has made her more content than ever before.

Q

What was your career path to opening The Needle Works in May 2013?

My grandma taught me to knit when I was five years old and it’s been my passion ever since. I can’t help myself. I can’t have idle hands. I love knitting, crocheting and yarns. In 2013 I heard that the wool shop I used in the town was going to close after about 60 years of trading. I couldn’t bear to think of Berwick without a yarn shop, so I decided I had to open one. This little corner site was ideal. I had been retired since 2001 after a career that had included being a welder straight from school, working on holiday barges in France for 11 years, and spending 11 years on the railway.

When I started the shop, I was volunteering at Citizens Advice.

Q

So you had no retail experience?

For a couple of years I had been selling things I’d designed and made at crafts fairs in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, but that was the limit of my experience. At least from there I knew of people to contact to tell them about The Needle Works. Most wools shops sell just wool, patterns and needles, but from the start I brought in all traditional haberdashery, like loose buttons, pins, threads and a full range of accessories. You can even buy 1 inch of Velcro if that’s all you need. I also have toy-making kits and felts as gifts for children.

28

Q

What was your business plan?

There wasn’t one. I just knew I wanted to create a nice little shop with a cosy atmosphere for people who wanted to make things. I spread the news by word-of-mouth through the craft fair circuit, the knitting group in the local library and in the local sheltered accommodation. I taught crocheting in the shop for a while but that was tricky because at the sessions different people were always at different levels. After five years of trading I now get regular holiday makers in Berwick who always drop in to ay hello and see what I have got in stock.

Q

Who are your customers?

At first my regular customers were primarily older people, grandmothers and greatgrandmothers. That is fine but I felt a lot of people were missing out on what I do and what knitting is all about, so I took a multi-media marketing course for small businesses run by the local Northumberland College. Now I use Facebook and have a web page and blog on Google My Business. The effect has been to bring in young people in their teens and 20s who are keen to use yarn and other embellishments as part of their art courses.

Q

What are your price ranges?

I have about four or five main suppliers for wool, threads and haberdashery. By far my best-seller is acrylic yarn at £1.99 a 100g ball, which people like because it is a great all-purpose machine-washable yarn. I also stock limited editions of local wool and fashion yarns that retail

Why do you like making things?

It’s all about the satisfaction of starting from scratch with one thing – the yarn – and making it into something else – the garment or accessory. I can make anything from a little shoulder bag in felted wool – you have to make it bigger to start with as it shrinks down – or a little knotted key ring that floats – they are very popular with jet-skiers. The only limit to making something great is your imagination.

Q

How is being a being a retailer suiting you?

I am in my home town and I live about 75 yards from my shop. I can make things all day when I am not serving customers. I meet people with the same interests and I am always ready to help or advise them, even if they have never bought anything from me. I have never been so contented in my life. But I do sometimes wonder if it’s a hobby more than a business.

The Needle Works, 54 Hide Hill, Berwick-uponTweed TD15 1AB the-needle-works-wool-shop.business.site Google My Business,  theneedleworksberwick

Personally speaking Hobbies: Knitting, knotting, crochet Fave music: 60s and 70s Fave food: Fish & seafood Fave drink: Cold beer Car: Nissan Figaro Fave gadget: Swiss Army Knife Best holiday: Steam train tour of Sardinia Fave film: Paddington Heroine: Kate Bush Best bit of advice ever received: The only limit to making something great is your imagination

OCTOBER 2018

The UK’s best independent retailers choose Vend.

Vend point-of-sale is everything you need to run your retail business. We give you the tools you need to make smarter decisions, save time, and grow your business - from easier inventory management, to customer loyalty, to selling across multiple stores and online.

Vend powers leading local independent retailers, whether you have one store or 20+.

O FF ER

E XCLU S IVE OFFER FO R BIRA ME MBE RS Free 45 minute consultation with a Vend Retail Specialist.

50% off Vend ePOS on-boarding and training package (minimum saving of £250)*. Save time and effort by letting us do the heavy lifting for you.

Award winning 24/7 customer support.

www.vendhq.com/uk

V1417

To learn more, contact us at bira@vendhq.com or call us on (020) 3868-3219 and let us know you’re a bira member.

Supporting independent retailers

Make buying easy and selling even easier.

Exclusive offers you won’t be able to get anywhere else during October and November.

2,000+ Brands

180+ Suppliers

Register Looking to drive footfall today at bit.ly/ to your footfalldrivers shop?