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STAG - July 2011
STAG calls on you to help support 'Independents' Day' this July
This year there is another great reason to celebrate Fourth of July. Whilst the Americans are celebrating their Declaration of Independence, this year in the UK it will also be ‘Independents Day 2011’, an event organised by Skillsmart Retail, National Skills Academy for Retail and retail guru Mary Portas.
This initiative encourages consumers to buy at least one item from an independent shop on July 4. Mary Portas has recently been appointed as the Government’s retailer adviser and is undertaking a review on the future of the high street. On June 30, she will have signed a ‘declaration of independents’ at the Association of Town Centre Managers Conference.
Posters and more information on the Independents Day are available from www.skillsmartretail.com.
At STAG, we certainly welcome more focus onto the independent retail community. With high street vacancies doubling over the last three years, we want to encourage a return to our local businesses including our sports and outdoor members. We can all comment on why the vacancies have increased: primarily increases in rental rates, a decrease in footfall due to out of town shopping centres and banks and building societies closing local branches affecting consumers visiting our towns.
Obviously online business has also detracted from consumers visiting towns for shopping. In addition, local councils have a big impact in terms of trying to minimise local traffic by considerably increasing car park charges (hard to compete against free parking at out of town centres).
And local planning issues are preventing companies taking on high street leases, which would stop shops being left empty, deter crime/social disturbance and improve the accessibility and ambience of our local towns.
So can Mary Portas and her team help alleviate the problems and encourage business in our independents? If she can help to regulate landlords, find a solution for car parking charges, push councils to facilitate change of business usage on unoccupied shops and improve our high streets, then all at STAG would welcome this with open arms.
What can we do to support these initiatives? Take part in the Independents Day in terms of spreading the word; look to our brands to support our members in terms of shop displays, marketing and product knowledge; and join in with member’s events and promotions.
For example, our member Ned Buggy in County Wexford, Ireland, recently celebrated 30 years in business. It invited a local radio station to broadcast from the shop for the day of the celebrations, which STAG supported with an advert as well as one of its major brands, and were a great success.
Also, please do check out the new look STAG and Freedom websites. As well as an improved dedicated area for members, there is a secure login page for suppliers and their sales force.
The new website also has far more information on STAG’s two buying shows, one in Ireland and one in the UK, both of which are coming up towards the end of the year.
Ricky Chandler
Director, STAG
