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North Yorkshire cycle hub up for top tourism award

22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.
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Independent retail bodies welcome new report aimed at tackling retail crime.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime... Read more…

Indie retailers outperformed supermarkets in sales of organic food, wellness and beauty products in 2023.

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with... Read more…

Cheltenham beer shop and bar wins top UK award.

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 
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Welsh Government Announce £20m Future Proofing Fund for Retail Businesses in Wales

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to... Read more…

High Street Faces 'Unprecedented Challenges' says Trade Association

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.
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Greeting Card Association expresses concern on new evidence Royal Mail prioritising parcel deliveries over letters.

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of... Read more…

Kate Bush named as Record Store Day ambassador.

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.
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Shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year 2024 revealed.

4 Mar 2024

The British Book Awards has announced its shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year. 
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Local Bike Shop Day 2024 confirmed for Saturday May 4th.

4 Mar 2024

The ACT is happy to confirm the date for Local Bike Shop Day 2024 as Saturday 4 May, the weekend of the early May Bank Holiday.
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Best Small Shops' "Meet the Innovators" series kicks off with Jacobs the Jewellers following their successful reopening

Posted on in Business News

This year's Best Jacobs the jewellersSmall Shops competition will see the addition of a special new category celebrating small retailers that overcame adversity in the form of the COVID-19 crisis and innovated during lockdown, or prepared their business for life as restrictions have loosened.

Our ‘Meet the Innovators' series will highlight some of the small shops that did something special during this difficult time, starting with Jacobs the Jewellers, who are based in Reading.

Jacobs were visited by Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Industry - after being recognised locally for setting a great example as a business successfully reopening following lockdown. We spoke to Adam Jacobs of Jacobs about his lockdown experience.

"During lockdown we emphasised our online abilities more heavily than before, putting phone consultations, online chats and video consultations if requested, at the centre of the online buying process.

"Our type of jewellery and watches have always required explanation and supporting assistance so by altering our website to promote this we dramatically improved our online sales.

"A new online appointment booking service embedded in our website was also introduced pre-opening. This smoothed customer flow and allowed personal selection of visiting times to suit.

"This has been enthusiastically picked up and is very popular, with 109 appointments being made in under 3 weeks for both repairs and new sales consultations. We'll definitely keep this on in conjunction with our National Association of Jewellers StoreSafe Covid-19 protocols."

Speaking about what he and has colleagues learned about the business during lockdown, Adam added: "We learned that we can be imaginative, creative, positive and resilient. We have a strong team dynamic and we bonded further with regular, weekly lockdown communications.

"Independents have a uniquely open and giving support structure almost hardwired in their DNA - that's what makes us special."

Enter your shop in the Best Small Shops Competition ‘Most Innovative Business During COVID-19' category here: bestsmallshops.uk/enter-now/.

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