Attire Accessories - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 81)

FSB BUSINESS FEATURE 21 Store in Malton, North Yorkshire, has experimented with offering a personal shopping service via Skype and then mailing the goods to customers. It has developed a website to market the business and aims to sell online in the future. Already this thriving high street business has grown to open a second branch in Whitby, and it was named Yorkshire’s Microbusiness of the Year in FSB’s Celebrating Small Business Awards 2019. But there remains a need for support to promote greater digital skills within those high street businesses, which haven’t yet taken full advantage of online and social media – not just direct sales, but also things like digital marketing. There are, however, real cost pressures on businesses in shopping areas. The business rates system is utterly outdated and disproportionately clobbers many high street firms. Thousands have seen their tax bills soar in recent years as a result. Short-term relief from some of these exorbitant bills is something FSB has consistently asked for from the Government, and the funds granted over the last few years have been welcomed. This needs to continue to be extended until a more fit- for-purpose system is developed, which doesn’t involve big tax demands before a business has seen a penny in turnover let alone actual profit. Employment costs – from wages to auto-enrolment pensions – are another major factor for many on the high street, in businesses that are heavily labour-dependent. Addressing this, by the Government offsetting other employment costs, such as employer national insurance, would be a much-needed way of easing some of the financial pressure. The longer-term challenge for high streets, however, doesn’t end there. The role that they play in both communities and the economy, and how they can be supported to innovate and transform, is the bigger picture. Local authorities have an important role to play, whether it’s encouraging shoppers with better parking provision and reduced charges, or providing free wifi and modern street furniture with USB ports. It will take imagination and commitment, but local leaders don’t need to do it alone. Our latest research at FSB reveals that among small businesses on or near the high street, almost a third feel they already form part of the local leadership shaping the future of the area they’re based in; a further one-in-five would like to be involved. This reinforces just how much small businesses are at the heart of communities, not just providing jobs and prosperity, but willing to work hard to make sure they can continue to do so long into the future. Keeping high streets relevant is also key, and part of that will have to involve new ways of thinking what their purpose is and the ways in which premises can be used. One possibility would be to include shared working spaces, providing office facilities and the chance to work around other people. Where larger retail units become available and landlords struggle to fill them, could they be shared by a number of small businesses instead of entirely occupied by one larger one? That kind of concept, in some instances, could also be applied to ensuring banking services remain on offer on the high street. In recent years, the main banking chains have closed vast swathes of branches, leaving small business customers without in-person services, or even without a convenient way of depositing cash. This has been another major factor in reducing footfall, giving customers one less reason to visit the high street. A better solution – for customers, small businesses and communities – might be to create shared spaces – a banking counter in one corner, a coffee shop in another. Just because a bank might not need a large, traditional branch it doesn’t have to lurch to the other extreme of pulling out of an area entirely. Independent high street businesses are part of the fabric of local communities, giving areas an identity as well as significant economic benefits. Many of them are well placed to thrive and be attractive to consumers long into the future, but they need creative, strategic action to make sure the locations in which they are based are fit for 2020 and beyond.