Ahead of re-opening her shop on April 12, Cathy Frost, owner of independent gift shop Loveone in Ipswich, was a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme last week, (March 17), where she discussed the impact of the pandemic on her store, as well as the future of the high street.
Addressing a panel of three expert retail judges – Bill Grimsey, author of the government’s The Vanishing High Street report in 2016; Kate Ancketill, ceo of GSR Retail Intelligence and Catherine Erdly founder of the Resilient Retail Club – Cathy’s question addressed working from home, and the demise of office workers, which has had a negative impact for many retailers.
“Large towns and cities have a huge office sector. In fact, Ipswich has such a large local footfall that it’s often highlighted as bucking the trend,” Cathy told GiftsandHome.net. “Therefore my question to the panel was, what ideas did they have to get round that, not just in Ipswich but for the country as a whole? How do towns and cities fill the gap without the lunchtime trade – the period when office workers would normally go out to get a sandwich and a coffee and pop into a shop to buy a gift and a card. At the moment, I feel that my business has been zeroed.”
Cathy continued: “We all take positivity from shops re-opening on April 12, and the further easing of lockdown on May 18, and then on June 21, but the challenge for us all will be what happens when the novelty wears off – when people say, I’ve been out, been to a pub, been to a restaurant, seen my friends, visited my relatives. If the norm is working from home, how will that impact on me?”
Did the panel of experts provide any answers? ““They didn’t reply on a macro level but on a micro level, they told me to create a website – which I did last April – use social media and other wholesale platforms that have been joining together to showcase products,” explained Cathy. “The programme was only 30 minutes long, and there were other guests, so I wasn’t able to go back to the panel to ask them to look at the bigger picture.”
Two days before making her point on Money Box, Cathy was also interviewed by the Sunday Times Business News. “I was one of several retailers interviewed about what the past year has been like, the effect on turnover, what percentage of my trade was now online and how it had affected me emotionally,” explained Cathy. “Luckily, I’m on a lovely high street in Ipswich, with a cross section of 50 or so businesses, but I’m the first one to put my head above the parapet and speak out. The government grants have been brilliant, and they’ve really helped, but it doesn’t make up for the business that I’ve lost, or for the fact that I haven’t been able to replace a member of staff. We’ve lost out on two Mother’s Days, as last year, the town was dead ten days before the first lockdown, and we will have lost out on two Easters. But having said that, Christmas 2020 was the best one we have ever had, and thank God we did have a good one, as it really helped. However, it was nowhere near what we would have taken.
“However, I feel optimistic that when we can open our doors on April 12, while we may not get the bounce back that we did at Christmas, everyone will have pent up energy and will be looking forward to get out and about again. We’re nextdoor and opposite two coffee shops, with another one opening up shortly, so once the hospitality industry is allowed to open up, we couldn’t be in a better position to benefit from that.”
Top: Cathy Frost, owner of Loveone in Ipswich, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 and by the Sunday Times Business News.
