Shopping: Independents face battle for survival
Sep 20 2010 By Emma McKinney
New figures have revealed almost a fifth of Birmingham’s shops lie empty as the economy battles to recover from the recession. Here, Consumer Editor Emma McKinney talks to three of the city’s 100 independent retailers about their fight for survival.
MANY would have us believe the recession is over, but new figures suggest consumer confidence is still in crisis.
Almost 18 per cent of Birmingham’s shops are boarded up and empty, according to a new report by The Local Data Company, which has revealed that the city has the 13th highest rate of vacant stores in the country.
And at Great Western Arcade, off Colmore Row in Birmingham city centre, the grim picture is all too apparent, with several of its units lying empty.
Despite having undergone a major £250,000 facelift last year to restore the centre to its former Victorian glory, bosses are still struggling to breathe new life into the arcade, which dates back to 1875.
While other centres offered retailers rent-free periods to try and keep shops occupied, in June last year some businesses in the arcade criticised its owners Aviva Investors over rent increases of up to £3,000, saying they feared it would see the centre empty within two years.
And in January last year, some of the arcade’s shopkeepers lashed out over Aviva Investors’ decision to call in the bailiffs to collect unpaid rent.
“No sooner do new shops open, existing ones close,” says Paul Lamb, proprietor of Sims Footwear, which has been in the arcade for nearly a decade.
Paul admits the business is struggling to make a profit and says he is considering ways to attract new custom, including a possible “price promise” which would see him selling his shoes and bags for less than the asking price if a customer can prove they have seen it cheaper elsewhere.
“Nowadays you have to think of everything you can to survive,” says the 47-year-old, who has worked in the shoe industry for more than 25 years.
“I think there’s a number of factors working against us, there’s obviously the recession, there’s high rent rates, the huge growth of the internet and for us it’s been the exchange rates.
“It’s a sad reality but not many UK manufacturers make what we sell any more and we have to buy in from oversees but the Euro and the dollar have been badly hit, which has a big impact on us.
“We really try not to increase our prices but it’s a real struggle if we are to make any profit.”
He also blamed the birth of the Bullring shopping centre seven years ago for “decimating” the independent shopping sector in Birmingham.
“I think independent shops add such a sense of individuality and character to a city and the fact Birmingham has so few is such a shame,” he adds. “We would urge people to come here and see what we have to offer, we give great service, great products and great prices and something different to what you would find in High Street chains.”
