PPSA INDIE WINNERS Inset: Odd Socks owner, Julia Warnes has received a lot of support since announcing she won the award.
Four independent retailers were recognised in last year’s glittering Progressive Preschool Awards ceremony, bringing a highlight to the end of what has been a turbulent year for many retailers. The winners have been sharing with PPS about their last year in business, their hopes and plans for the future and what their award means to them.
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Julia Warnes, owner, Odd Socks winner of Best Independent Apparel Retailer “I was just putting some figures in and when you look at the months we were closed, it is just unbelievable really that we’re still here. Obviously we’ve had to take loans to stay here. Being a relatively new-ish business anyway, we hadn’t really settled in before we hit the Brexit debacle and then this on top of that. I feel like we’ve had three years of turmoil. “We’re now into year six, and I had given myself a five-year limit, but we’ve carried on and support since we’ve re-opened has been pretty good. People love to come in
to shop. The high street just has to somehow carry on. It’s lovely to see people and help people, rather than just being an online presence. This has to be the way forward. Customer service is key for me; I focus on those that need help selecting gifts. We wrap and pack too, so they can come, get the gift, hand it over and they haven’t had to do anything else. “It’s really lovely to be recognised that we are doing a good job through the awards. I thank all the people I work with for that as well. We got a lot of support when I put it out there
that we had won the award, lots of wonderful comments. “In 2022, I want to get back to a position where I am confident financially that we can move forward, and my main aim is to grow my online sales, to give me the push financially to help keep the shop open. But 90% of my business is through the door, so I look after my customers locally and then hope to push online to give us the boost we need. If I could see myself this time next year as being in profit, that would be wonderful.”
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