Retail Revitalisation

0

IMG_2348Following initial advisory visits made to independent retailers in April and June of 2013, The Shop Doctor will be revisiting Haddington, Dunbar and North Berwick in the week commencing 20th January 2014 to follow up with the businesses engaged in the Let’s Talk Shop programme funded by East Lothian Council and see what progress has been made.

Each of the participating retailers originally received a comprehensive Recommendations Report following the initial visit which identified opportunities for improvement in the way the businesses engage with their customers.

Recommendations included routes to enhance shop front presentation and impact, opportunities for maximising effectiveness of internal layout and improvements to merchandising.  The Shop Doctor also sought to identify other key opportunities to help sustain and develop each of the businesses.

As with all his recommendations, The Shop Doctor initially seeks to identify practical and deliverable solutions that can make a good business even better without extensive investment. “It is important to maximise the investment already made before spending even more” commented The Shop Doctor “often subtle change can deliver considerable benefits without major cost.”

 

0

IMG_6825The ‘Let’s Talk Shop’ Support Programme moves to Langholm, Dumfries & Galloway, from Monday 11th November.

Independent retailers in the town will be attending an evening retail workshop at the Town Hall on Monday from 5.30pm when The Shop Doctor will share his thoughts about how shops can ensure that first impressions deliver, rather than deter, customers and once they are across the threshold how retailers can maximise the selling opportunity through effective layout, merchandising and good service.

As part of the evening The Shop Doctor will also review his first impressions of Langholm and identify with the delegates attending  opportunities to help improve retail vitality in the town.

Independent retailers interested in attending should contact grant.coltart@dumgal.gov.uk

0

IMG_5706 compThe second stage of the latest Let’s Talk Shop Support Programme got underway on 7th October with a Shop Doctor Retail Masterclass being held in Thornhill, Dumfries & Galloway.

Following the success of the first stage of the Programme delivered in Dalbeattie during September, 10 retailers in Thornhill recognised the opportunities being made available by Dumfries & Galloway Council and attended the evening masterclass.

In addition to the masterclass, The Shop Doctor is conducting one-to one advisory visits to participating retailers in the town with each business concerned having opportunity to apply for a £500.00 grant towards implementation of recommendations made during the visits and contained within the comprehensive Shop Doctor Recommendations Report that will be compiled for each shop.

Our Shop Doctor commented “the feedback from retailers in Dalbeattie has been excellent and reports are in hand for the 20 retailers involved” he went on to say “my visits are not about finding fault or delivering criticism, they are about seeking ways to make good businesses even better. They provide retailers with the confidence to implement recommendations based on good industry practice and my own wide experience of what works and what doesn’t.”

In November, the programme will commence in Langholm followed early in 2014 by Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart. In total, 70 independent retailers will be engaged within the the current Let’s Talk Shop programme in Dumfries & Galloway.

0

Copy of IMG_495720 independent retailers in Dalbeattie took advantage of the latest Shop Doctor Support Programme funded by Dumfries & Galloway Council.

One-to-one shop visits were conducted by The Shop Doctor during the two weeks following the well attended Retail Workshop held at Dalbeattie Town Hall on the evening of Monday 16th September.

Each shop visited will receive a comprehensive Shop Doctor Recommendations Report detailing individual opportunities believed capable of helping the particular  business concerned improve its retail vitality.

The Shop Doctor commented “the engagement with  retailers in Dalbeattie has been particularly refreshing. The retailers involved have been extremely open about their businesses and all demonstrated a keen desire to seriously consider implementation of the opportunities that will be identified in their individual reports.”

The next Town to benefit from the Shop Doctor Support will be Thornhill. The programme commences on Monday 7th October with a Retail Workshop for businesses in the town.

0

Post Office branches in England (excluding Crown branches) can now apply to receive up to £10,000 to support a new scheme or service for their local community. These could include:

•    Classes in key skills such as reading, languages or the Internet
•    Mentoring and advice service for local small businesses, or display space for local producers
•    Partnership with a local charity to provide a meeting space, notice board and other forms of support
•    A hub or meeting space for community groups involved in local issues, such as neighbourhood planning

If you have an idea you’d like your Post Office to support, download and print the relevant PDF from the website, write down your idea, take it into your Post Office and have a conversation with the sub-postmaster or branch manager about what you could do together to benefit the local community.

Sub-postmasters can find out more including how to apply on subspaceonline.co.uk. The deadline for applications is Friday 18 October 2013.

The Fund is a result of a partnership between the Department for Communities and Local Government and Post Office Ltd. It is limited to supporting a maximum of 20 schemes across the country (England only) in 2013/14.
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/community-enterprise-fund

0

shopping experience cheshire towns 191Veteran retailer Bill Grimsey, the former boss of DIY chain Wickes and food retailer Iceland, has unveiled a 31 point plan identifying routes to rescue the  struggling high streets.

The recommendations offer an alternative plan to the Mary Portas Review and include a suggestion to raise a £550m local economic development fund by levying major retailers turning over £10m with a 0.25% retail tax.

Central to the plan is the need to accept that there is too much retail space already in the market and that town centres need to become community hubs with multiple different uses including healthcare, business, the arts and manufacturing.

To view the 31 recommendations click here (pdf document)

0

A further 70 independent retailers across 5 more towns in Dumfries & Galloway will now be receiving assistance from The Shop Doctor.

Following the success of the recent Shop Doctor Programmes delivered by Let’s Talk Shop Ltd in Dumfries, Annan, Stranraer, Gretna and Lockerbie the scheme has now been extended to provide support to shops in Dalbeattie, Thornhill, Langholm, Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart.

Let’s Talk Shop Ltd was successful in securing the contract for onward delivery of the programme which will take the number of shops now receiving Shop Doctor support in Dumfries & Galloway to 140.

Similar recent programmes in Argyll & Bute and East Lothian increase the number of independent shops involved with The Shop Doctor in Scotland alone to 160.

0

ETN coverThe August 2013 edition of Equestrian Trade News reproduces advice provided by The Shop Doctor relating to opportunities available to businesses retailing products to the Equestrian and associated sectors.

The Shop Doctor was asked to contribute the article following increasing call on his time from animal health retailers seeking routes to improve trading vitality through appropriate development and diversification of their businesses.

Read the article here

0

Playing music in your shop can make a real difference to how it is perceived by your customers. Getting it right can help retain customers in your shop for more time and encourage purchases, get it wrong and they may not even come through your door.

When considering what music to play remember that if it is to be heard by your  customers your personal choice may not be ideal and the music needs to compliment the retail environment , not conflict with it.

In addition you will almost certainly require a Performing Rights Society Licence (PRS) and a Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) licence, two separate organisations dealing with different sectors of the music industry.

For further information about PRS visit:  www.prsformusic.com 

For further information about PPL visit:  www.ppluk.com 

For a brief overview of PRS and PPL click here for information extracted from each of the organisations websites

 

0

IMG_2501 website

June has seen yet more independent shops in Scotland receiving Shop Doctor support in ongoing support programmes funded  by East Lothian Council and Dumfries & Galloway Council.

A total of 21 ‘on-to-one’ shop visits  took place across North Berwick, Haddington, Dunbar, Gretna and Lockerbie in June with a further 6 shops in Lockerbie scheduled for a visit in early July. Every visit is supported by a comprehensive Shop Doctor report detailing practical opportunities considered available to improve business vitality within each of the businesses concerned.

Commenting on the visits our Shop Doctor advised that “There continues to be  a tremendous variety of retail choice available on our High Streets with independent retailers providing a critical role in maintaining the unique identity of the fabric of a town” and added  “retailers, local councils, landlords and the general public each have an important role to play in sustaining business vitality in our towns and all need to work towards a common goal”.