A Liverpool fancy dress shop that has become a Bold Street institution is vowing to come out of the pandemic stronger than ever.
The owners of Smiffy’s, based on Bold Street since 2004, are preparing for a resurgence as people across the city hope for continued easing of restrictions.
Neville and Beverley Boyars have run the shop since it opened 17 years ago and are vowing to keep it in its location even as Bold Street becomes increasingly focused on restaurants.
Smiffy’s landlord has also recently applied for permission to turn the shop into a restaurant, though the Boyars said there are absolutely no plans for the shop to stop trading.
The shop was originally supposed to be one of a large number of Smiffy’s franchises across the country, but despite the company behind that idea decided not to press ahead with a wider rollout, Smiffy’s was able to keep the name.
Offering a huge range of products across two floors, it has become known for its range of costumes and masks as well as party decorations – but the Boyars said trading conditions had been extremely difficult during the pandemic.
Beverley said the entire period of the pandemic has proved difficult, with parties and other celebrations cancelled or slimmed down significantly, but said Halloween was particularly hard.
She said: “We were really disappointed last Halloween, it was really, really hard because as well as being Halloween it fell on a Saturday.
“Our queues are normally out the door on the days before Halloween, we can have up to 200 people in the shop.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll get Halloween this year – and obviously it’s on a Sunday this year so it’s still on the weekend and that tends to bring more people in.”
However, in a sign that things are beginning to develop positively, the shop will start opening on Sundays again from tomorrow for the first time in months.
That is set to coincide with the return of fans to Anfield for the first time in months.
Mr Boyars said football fans of both Liverpool and Everton have always been enthusiastic customers of the shop, particularly those coming to Liverpool from abroad.
He said that while the fancy dress business, which he has worked in since the 1980s, had changed in recent years, with different trends, he felt the shop could continue to thrive due to its attitude to customer service.
Neville said: “We like to think when people com in they have the Smiffy’s experience. We don’t pounce on on people, we let them take their time and look around.
“We have got a range of products and we try to discover each customer’s needs.
“We try to find a way of finding out what they want and providing it for them however we can. It may be seen as an old fashioned way of service but it is the survive that works for our customers.
“We really love it, we love to help people find what they really want.”
The Boyars said the market for the shop had shifted significantly since they opened.
Students, which once accounted for around three quarters of their customers, now account for just a quarter.
However, the rise of stag and hen parties has provided newer customers, as had the rise in profile and importance of World Book Day, which sees kids across the country dress up as their favourite characters.
While only a relatively recent phenomenon, the March celebration is now one of the shop’s most important trading periods after Halloween.
The Boyars hope the continue demand for costumes and party decorations from old and new celebrations will allow the business to succeed for years to come.
Neville said: “Our business has been here for 17 years – and we want it to be here for at least another 17 years. It might not be us running it, but we still want it to be here.”
