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Get ready to celebrate independent Record Store Day

18 Apr 2024

Independent record stores around the country are preparing to celebrate all things vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday April 20th. 
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Indies encouraged to put themselves forward for Retail Business of the Year award.

18 Apr 2024

BIRA, the British Independent Retailers Association, has announced its partnership with this year’s SME National Business Awards., joining the 2024 awards as a leading sponsor, backing... Read more…

Family-run Polesworth fish and chip shop celebrates 40 years in business with half-price chips.

18 Apr 2024

A Midlands fish and chip shop is celebrating 40 years in business and offering half-price chips to mark the milestone.
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Assault of shop workers to be made specific criminal offence

18 Apr 2024

Assaulting a shop worker is to be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime. 
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New stores helping Cardiff arcades buck retail trends.

18 Apr 2024

Eleven new businesses that have opened in the last year in the historic arcades of Cardiff city centre’s Morgan Quarter, made up of the Morgan and Royal arcades, have helped the arcades... Read more…

Study highlights impact of rising staff costs for convenience retailers.

3 Apr 2024

Research by the University of Stirling and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation has shed light on the impact of rising staff costs on the convenience retail sector in Scotland.
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Independent department stores hitting a sweet spot on local high streets.

3 Apr 2024

With large national chains increasingly disappearing from the high street, Drapers magazine has been looking at how independent department stores are stepping up their offerings to... Read more…

Entries open for 2024 Baking Industry Awards

2 Apr 2024

The Baking Industry Awards return for their 37th year and are once again ready to recognise and reward the very best people, products, and businesses in the sector. The awards showcase the... Read more…

Family-owned cycle shop celebrates 90 years trading in Walsall.

2 Apr 2024

Walsall's cycling community has been celebrating a family-owned business which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
 
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Payment-processing outages at UK retailers raise reliability issues for cashless transactions.

2 Apr 2024

Recent payment disruptions at supermarkets and fast-food outlets have raised questions on the need for improved reliability.
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IRC backs ‘Colour Friday’ alternative to Black Friday sales

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

The IRC has joined bira and other retail trade associations in backing the ‘Colour Friday’ alternative to this week’s Back Friday sales.

The ‘Colour Friday’ initiative was first orchestrated by the UK Ambassador for Creative Small Businesses, Holly Tucker MBE, as a way of encouraging people to choose shopping at small independent businesses over impulse buying from big online retail giants in the annual ‘Black Friday’ sales. At the time of writing, nearly 2,800 small businesses and consumers have listed their support.

Colour Friday

It goes without saying that the pressure to participate in Black Friday affects independent retailers across the UK. The expectation to offer Black Friday discounts are high, but the incentives can be low with the current rises in inflation and energy prices.

On her website, Holly mentions that:

·       In a recent poll, half of UK small business owners said they’re genuinely concerned that this will be their last Christmas trading.

·       Carbon emissions generated from Black Friday online sales alone are equivalent to 215 flights from London to Sydney?

·       89% of shoppers reported finding Black Friday highly stressful?

·       A quarter of Brits surveyed said they regretted their Christmas Black Friday buys.

bira recently conducted a survey asking its members to share their thoughts on Black Friday, and whether they knew of any alternatives. A resounding majority told them no, so, like bira, the IRC wanted to bring attention to a different initiative you can take part in.

You can find out more here.

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