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Retailer Round Table
Talking Heads After 17 months without trade shows, seven retailers made the most of getting together at PG&H’s Retailer Round Table at Harrogate’s Home & Gift in July to reflect on the past few months since re-opening. Life on the high street, the positives of having a transactional website and Christmas trading were some of the many topics on the table. “We’re in a countryside location and are experiencing increased footfall and strong trading,” confirmed Helen Crawford, co-owner of destination lifestyle store Old School Beauly in Beauly. “In fact, we've had a particularly strong year due to various factors. For example, we've been very active online, shipping orders every day and growing a significant digital customer base. We're also experiencing the rise of staycationers, many of whom plan ahead as opposed to going somewhere spontaneously. They're researching our social media and website to make sure that we're open, that our loos are open and they can get something to eat. We need to give customers the confidence to shop. If we, as an industry, can tick that box, I think the future is really bright for retail.
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PROGRESSIVE GIFTS & HOME WORLDWIDE
Retailer Round Tablers 2021 (in alphabetical order) l l l l l l l
Clare and Hannah Bishop, co-owners, Cornucopia, Worcester Helen Crawford, co-owner, Old School Beauly, Beauly Janet Hartree, owner, Ewe & Me and Ewe Too, Grantown on Spey Bill Nettelfield, owner, Bill & Bert’s, Colchester Jenni Taylor, manager, Alligator Pear, Tadworth Maggie Thornton, owner, Alligator Pear, Tadworth (Chair: Sue Marks) Above: PG&H’s editor Sue Marks (centre, front) with this year’s retail round tablers. Left: Hannah Bishop. Below: Helen Crawford (left) and Clare Bishop.
“However, it is a story of two halves and those who relied on office footfall have seen sales plummet,” Helen pointed out. “It’s therefore important that the retail sector is looked at as a whole, as we all need to get through because it strengthens the entire trade. In fact, we should all be ambassadors for the recent Bill Grimsey report which recommended that the government should write off the Bounce Back Loan for independents.” On the subject of staycationing, Janet Hartree, owner of Ewe & Me and Ewe Too in Grantown-on-Spey concurred. “It’s very much about people getting into their cars and away from their home environments. There’s no doubting that people are really happy to be out and about again.” Clare Bishop, co-owner of Cornucopia with her daughter Hannah, confirmed that there had been a steady flow of customers since reopening. “Interestingly, we now get customers coming in early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and although we’re seeing fewer customers they’re definitely spending more,” she emphasised. “Also, people are continuing to update their homes which has inspired us to look at different products.” As for the shop’s online business, Hannah Bishop explained: “We started out on Trouva in 2019 but have subsequently created our own website. Now we use both online and social media to engage with customers as we’re finding that they want to buy into the Cornucopia ‘look’.”
