Independents Day 2011
We have all heard about the bloodshed on the high street on the national news. Is the beautiful Georgian city of Bath immune to these troubled times? Bath after all is one of the UK’s top tourist destinations.
According to one source Bath benefits from 1 million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors per year. Add these visitors to a Bath population with above average UK disposable income and surely the shops and restaurants in the city centre must be immune from the troubles?
Why then did the following city centre businesses shut their doors in Bath in 2011?
Independent Retailers:
Duck Son and Pinker (first opened in 1848)
Drop Records
Gem Tree
Bath Galleries
Bath Book Exchange
Down in the Woods
Smooth Sensations
Free Spirit
Raw
Change of Direction
Funki Bambini (x2)
SW17
Hi Ho Silver
Moon and Sixpence
Walrus and Carpenter
Café Piazza
National Retailers:
Jane Norman
Habitat
Quiksilver
Several national and local retailers are likely to follow suit and close their doors to Bath this year. Closure of the above were for different reasons and I don’t know all the ins and outs of each case, However if these businesses had been booming would they not all still be trading? Times are very tough for retailers at the moment and there is no sign that things will improve in the near future. If Bath is suffering imagine the desperation of independent retailers in other towns and city’s where they don’t get the 4Million+visitors each year and/or where the disposable income of its shopping catchment is below average. What can be done? Here are some of my thoughts.
1) Government has to level the playing field for independent retailers.
2) Retailers have to review their business plans at least once a quarter to see if their business remains viable and be brutal if it does not.
3) Retailers must undertake an assessment of all of their property occupancy costs at least once a quarter.
4) Landlords have to share the pain with their tenants and take some of the hit on their property income and valuations. This requires open and transparent dialogue between occupiers and landlords.
5) Retailers and their staff have to be at the top of their game every single day with every customer.
6) Retailers have to seek out and quickly implement innovative methods of trading. At least 6 new efficiency, cost saving, profit generating ideas must be implemented each year.
7) Independent retailers have to pool resources and work together to identify their customers and sell their businesses to them.
8) Retailers must review all supplier costs before every order to ensure they remain competitive.
9) The general public has to support local businesses wherever they can and independents day is a start!
