Independent Shop Guide Website

The Independent Shop Guide website is still very much under construction on my laptop. I have a pretty good idea of what it is going to look like, but I am struggling to impose my will on the code at the moment so it actually resembles what it should look like. Setting up a website is a curious business. Like writing an e-mail you have to think through what the person the other side of the screen is going to get out of it. Unlike an e-mail, you also have to think through what the computer is going to do to your idea as well. The important thing is what the potential shopper is going to make of it. I need to give them all the information they need to make a journey to somewhere they have never been before with the intention of shopping when they get there. And I need to make sure that the website design helps rather than hinders that intention. I just hope it all comes together soon.

Rents and Rates

The biggest unavoidable expense in running an independent shop is the rent, quickly followed by the rates. With a recession just around the corner, if not actually here, what is happening to rents? Rents have been going up over the last few years but the trend seems to have halted. In fact the headline figures suggest a 15% decline over the last 12 months. One factor which should be promoting a very welcome downward pressure on shop rents is the recent withdrawl of discounts on rates for unoccupied shops. This ought to put pressure on landlords to do deals and keep supply up. But according to the Telegraph it is in fact leading some landlords to simply demolish their property to avoid the rate bill. The paper reports that as a result of this the government are considering a u-turn on the policy. In the harsher retail climate ahead it would be much better if measures to help smaller enterprises could be maintained.

Tescos

Tesco stores account for £1 of every £7 spent in the UK. This statistic really does take the breath away when you think about it. But the supermarket is getting a lot of bad press lately. If you were the chairman of Tesco pocketing over £5M as a salary you can probably live with a bit of stick from commentators. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's campaign on chickens is hardly going to dent them very much. I have just heard that even Barak Obama has been criticising them. But again, I doubt that many shoppers will put them off. My local store is well laid out, has very good prices and ample parking. The opening hours couldn't be more convenient - they are literally open all hours. But I don't shop there very often. There is something about Tesco I just don't like. I can't put my finger on it. I am not aware that they are really any worse than any other retailer. Deep down for some reason I just don't trust them. I don't know why not. It goes back to before they were the biggest supermarket so it isn't just dislike of the top dog. And it predates my interest in independent shopping. I wonder if all the publicity will seep into the consciousness of more people and eventually begin to limit their growth? Nothing lasts forever and although Tesco are going to be around for a while yet they will be replaced one day. What will it be? The internet maybe? Transport costs? I can't help thinking that the most likely thing that will cheque their growth will be a feeling that you just can't trust them.

Mary Queen of Shops - H.T.Burt Manchester

The incredible Mary Portas continues her quest to save ailing the ailing independent shop clothing retail sector. This week she visited H.T.Burt, a long established Manchester men's outfitters that has seen better days. The first reaction I got when looking at the footage of her first visit was that a conservation order should be slapped on the place. It took my right back to my childhood in the seventies when most shops looked like it. Some of the stock may have been there since then as well. On top of the generally dated look of the clothes, there was also a strange attraction to the colour brown. They also stocked neither jeans nor t-shirts. Mary P was incredulous both at what was on sale - which presumably was likely to sit on the shelves until someone wanted to do an authentic remake of Crossroads - and at the apparent complete lack of knowledge of the men's clothing market of the proprietor and his staff. Only Gordon, the oldest member of the team seemed to have any idea at all. With the energy of superhero Portas dragged them around the local shopping centre and showed them how people who successfully sold clothes did it. The almost unsellable stock was sold off cheaply to the local bowls club (I don't suppose that they were pleased with how they came out on telly!) and replaced with a set of top name brands. Advice from GQ editor Dylan Jones was followed to create an easy to understand and classic complete set of outfits for the average frankly clueless man. The revamped shop looked great, and even better looked like the sort of place that the average frankly clueless man like myself could visit and hope to come out with some decent togs. Take home message - a successful shop should look good, understand its customers' needs and give them a solution to their shopping needs.