Cardiff
You only have to enter one of Cardiff’s Victorian shopping arcades to discover the impact that small businesses have had on the Welsh capital. Away from the generic shopfronts of the high street, the eclectic range of retailers here provide a shopping experience more memorable than anywhere else in the city.
Entrepreneurs in the arcades focus on collaboration rather than competition. When Kirsty Patrick opened contemporary design shop Home by Kirsty in Castle Arcade last year, she knew that working with other British makers would be key for her business.
“Everything’s made by designers from Wales and the UK,” Patrick explains, gesturing towards shelves lined with colourful homeware. “I think it’s really important for independents to work together – we’re much stronger when we’re working with one another.”
A few doors down, Science Cream uses Heston Blumenthal-inspired chemistry to turn locally supplied ingredients into frozen desserts. The ice cream parlour almost missed out on this year’s Small Business Saturday after a flood wiped out its kitchen and forced it to close for four months. The business has reopened but is still recovering, and owner Carly Karran is more grateful than ever for the support of customers and neighbouring businesses.
“Events like this are so important to businesses like ours,” says Karran. “Dedicating a day to independent shops reminds everyone what Cardiff and its arcades have to offer.”
For proof of the staying power that customer loyalty brings, look no further than Spillers Records in Morgan Arcade. As the co-owner of the oldest record shop in the world, Ashli Todd believes that her shop’s survival is down to a shared mentality between customers and staff.
“We seem to attract like-minded people who care,” says Todd. “They like the fact that it’s not homogenised in here, that we play the music we want to hear, not because head office has told us to.
“The independent music-buying community values record shops, so people visit us from all around the country. It’s that kind of support that keeps us going.”
by Matt Ayres in Cardiff
Belfast and Ballycastle
Tom and Eimear Mullin are passionate about using locally-sourced ingredients in their Ballycastle-based cafe and catering company Thyme & Co, and say Small Business Saturday is a unique opportunity to encourage people to shop locally at a time when many rural business communities struggle to compete with bigger firms in surrounding towns.
“We’re giving all customers a raffle ticket to win one of our luxury food hampers today, with a promotion running on social media, too,” says Tom. “It’s also an opportunity to thank our customers who are incredibly loyal and appreciate what we do, which makes it worthwhile.”
Tom, who is also involved in an artisan market alongside the local Chamber of Commerce, believes Small Business Saturday creates an opportunity for small business owners to collaborate rather than compete. “The more food producers there are in Ballycastle, the more widely it’s known as a foodie destination.”
Chris Suitor of thebelfasttailor.com saw a 30% increase in trade on Small Business Saturday last year, despite only being minimally involved. This year he was one of 100 small businesses chosen to promote the campaign.
“The Small Business Saturday team brought their campaign bus to Belfast and the resulting media coverage boosted footfall, with people popping in after discovering us in the newspapers and on TV,” Suitor says.
“But today is really about bringing the wider business community together. It helps foster the kind of symbiotic relationship that small, independent businesses - and their customers - can all benefit from.”
“Small Business Saturday has become a real focal point in our retail year, signalling the beginning of a critical trading period for us that essentially determines the success or otherwise of our whole year,” agrees Laura Brown of Arcadia arcadiadeli.co.uk in Belfast, an award-winning family business spanning three generations, which champions local artisan producers and specialises in Christmas gift hampers.
“With the closure of many small, independent shops over recent years, there’s a growing awareness that a diverse high street is under threat,” Brown says. “Unless we become more aware of where we’re spending our money, we’ll be left with few retail options, but Small Business Saturday is an initiative to counter that, which everyone can get behind.”
by Heidi Scrimgeour in Ballycastle
Greater Manchester
The weather wasn’t on the traders’ side in Manchester, where Storm Desmond tore through the streets on the morning of Small Business Saturday.
Emma Loat, who runs Forsyths Music Shop in Deansgate with her brother Simon, is hoping that their special offers, which kick off the start of a Christmas shopping week in the store, will entice shoppers in out of the cold.
“We have live musicians around the store, and special offers. We want to make people come in,” says Loat. “This year we have made a big splash about Small Business Saturday and done lots of social media.”
Forsyths has been in Deansgate for 158 years – this is the fifth generation of the family to run the business, giving them a unique perspective on the changes in the area. “Manchester has changed over the years,” says Loat. “There are a lot more restaurants and bars in the centre now, but in terms of independents there’s less and less.”
Over in Tameside the Tweed Brewing Company is marking the occasion in a unique way, by producing 100 exclusive Small Business Saturday bottle labels which will then be applied to bottles and sent out to each one of the Small Business Saturday 100 finalists.
Founder Sam Ward says he wanted to take part as a way of giving back to the businesses in the area that have supported him during the startup period. “Small businesses have allowed Tweed to grow rapidly,” he says. “From buying hops to tea bags, we have always shopped local which has allowed us to build up a personal relationship with the owners.”
In Tameside, there has been great support for Small Business Saturday, Ward says. “The local councillors really do go above and beyond to do their part and support local. Not just for the event but all year.”
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