It's impossible to say that week commencing 29 June 2020 wasn't a torrid one for job losses in the UK Retail/Hospitality sector.  Every day last week witnessed the announcement of more high-street doom and gloom, with TM Lewin, SSP Brands Upper Crust and Ritazza Coffee, Arcadia Group, John Lewis and Partners, Bella Italia and Café Rouge among others all delivering bad news.  July 4 was termed 'Super Saturday' with the re-opening of many sectors of the Hospitality industry but the latest easing of COVID-19 restrictions brings with it further anxiety from customers and concerns from vendors as to the viability of their re-boot, constrained as they are by official re-opening guidelines.  Economic feasibility has to be interwoven with customers' willingness to re-engage - not an easy task...

July 4 was also what the British Independent Retail Association (BIRA) has called 'Independents Day' for the past few years.  Unless I missed it, it doesn't appear to have been overly promoted this year which seems a great shame - with large- and medium-sized organisations struggling so badly, we need to look elsewhere for stoic support for a strong rebound and perhaps small, local independents are where we find it.

Here in sleepy Suffolk, the market town of Ipswich is actually steeped in mercantile history dating back centuries.  The population of the largely rural, agrarian county is tiny, with a little over 750,000 living here - around 133,000 of those live in Ipswich itself - and so, despite its history, you might expect the town's Retail 'scene' to be of little importance in the grand scheme of things.  However, the on-going demise in high street store occupation by the large/medium-sized businesses has then had a proportionally greater impact on the local economy - but it also presents opportunities for smaller, independent operators to flourish.

Two tiny streets in Ipswich, St. Peter's and St. Nicholas', have become a haven for niche Retail and Hospitality providers in recent years.  The House In Town, owned and run by John Manning, is "two floors of uniquely striking homewares" and is packed full of unusual, quality items capable of giving a home real character.  Speaking with John since the re-opening of non-essential retail a few weeks ago, he says that there was an initial flurry of activity upon re-launch but that footfall has since fallen back.  A few doors down, Lynn Turner at the Cake and Catwalk boutique reports a similar trend: "The first week was good, then...".  Sandwiched between them (ha!) is a glorious little coffee shop, Applaud Coffee, which will be re-opening on Monday 6 July and time will tell how customers react but all three (among others in the same two streets) all share a common theme: customer service.

Independents might be small but they are flexible; they may operate on much lower sales turnover but they are personal; one may think that they are vulnerable yet current evidence is showing that they are resilient; they are often perceived as routine but the truth is they can be highly resourceful.  The pandemic and resultant Lock-down has deterred shoppers from venturing too far afield, fueling a societal desire to 'shop local', so here's the opportunity: by knowing their customers, treating them personally and providing quality levels of products and service they become more than just another logo on the high street - they establish themselves as intrinsic parts of the town's Retail and Hospitality heritage.

Independents such as the ones in Ipswich, indeed throughout the country, have a vital role to play in cementing the foundations of solid economic recovery and the British public has an equally vital part to play - by proving that we value friendly, quality customer service-led independence by spending with and honestly supporting them.  With many of the 'big names' in trouble, we really do need them more than ever...