Shoppers rediscovered  their  local  high  streets  during  the  Covid-19  pandemic – a welcome trend which has given independent retailers a major opportunity to move their businesses forward.

In a recent roundtable discussion, David Hibbert, Joint Managing Director at Stax Trade Centres, joined a panel of key retail industry personnel to discuss how the past 20 months have changed the supply chain, industry learning and the longer term implications for independent retailers. 

Introducing the panel:

• David Hibbert, Managing Direct at Stax Trade Centres 

• Jeff Moody, Commercial Director at BIRA

• Bryan Clover, CEO at the Rainy Day Trust

• Trish Milliken, Director at Dencon Accessories

• Robert Milliken, Director at Dencon Accessories

Whilst uncertainty gripped the nation, independent retailers had to diversify to help keep the wheels turning and the supply chain moving. Whilst maintaining stock levels was a challenge, several areas of the market were even boosted by increased sales figures despite the current situation.

Stax made groundbreaking improvements to their digital presence which also helped customers respond effectively to challenges such as purchasing stock and adapting to new trading conditions, allowing them to remain busy throughout the pandemic.

Stax joint managing director David Hibbert said: "When Covid hit, it just completely flipped for independent retailers. They suddenly became key retailers.

“Suppliers realised that online trading was more important than ever before,” he added. “It has helped to fill the gap created by the lack of face-to-face contact between people and has played an important part in helping get their product out into the marketplace and into the hands of their customers.”

He continued: “I think independent retailers have made ten years worth of developments. They’ve gone online, they’ve adapted their own businesses to cope, and I think everybody appreciates local business again.”

Jeff Moody, commercial director of the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), said there had been winners and losers during the pandemic, with the DIY and hardware sector doing particularly well.

“What has really come to light is how quickly independents changed, compared to other sectors in retail,” he explained. 

“David’s analogy that they’ve moved forward in 20 months what they normally would in ten years is absolutely correct.

“They’ve really adapted to new technologies. We’ve noticed a massive shift towards e-commerce and omni-commerce. There’s been a real change in the way they engage with customers.”

Moody also revealed that BIRA had plans to launch its own non-profit trading platform for independent retailers, adding: 

“I think online trading needs to be developed, but it should only one part of your business. As a local community, if you buy online, you should buy locally online.  

“It reduces the distance to and from a delivery zone and puts money back into the local area, and that’s the key. If you buy locally online, at least you are reinvesting in your local communities. 

“The one thing I’d like to see is a lot more independents using social media and online to build customer awareness of their business - not only to to take orders from. 

Robert Milliken said independent retailers had been “light of foot” when it came to getting  their shops open during the pandemic, compared to bigger businesses.

“Whereas the large sheds were closed for ages before they could work out what was going on, it gave the independents a fantastic leg-up. They were so busy,” he said. 

“They were doing very well on the bulky items like compost and things that you couldn’t get online because the postage cost was too great. They were also very good at giving advice during this time, and the large sheds just couldn’t do that. 

Robert’s fellow director Trish Milliken said customers had also relished the personal approach that local  shops offered.  

She added: “They’ve realised that walking to your local shop or going to the local shopping centre is a good thing to do, because they’re seeing people again.”

Jeff Moody also added that, going forwards, retailers would not be caught in the way they were 20 months ago only stocking brands. Instead, he believed they would become more open to the idea of stocking tertiary brands. 

He also explained there was a major shift among consumers for eco-products, with smaller independent retailers again able to move with more agility to change their product ranges, compared to the bigger businesses.

Looking to the future, David Hibbert warned there were still major challenges ahead, with supply chain difficulties and product sourcing and transportation problems.

“The way the whole market has changed so much in the last 20 months makes it difficult to predict where everything is going to go.” he said. 

Referring to a recent Barclays report, he continued: “It says that only 5% of 16 to 24 year-olds prefer shopping in-store. That therefore indicates that, as they get older, that percentage will have a great impact on shopkeepers. 

“It also says that only a third of shopkeepers find their premises important and will be investing in them, whilst only a third of business with 50 to 250 employees are planning new openings. 

“That means the independent retailers are going to get stronger, but into a diminishing market. Therefore, the development of online and the expertise the independent retailers need will be key for them. 

“It’s still choppy waters out there. I don’t think we’ve seen the impact of Brexit yet, and the fact that we’re 100,000 delivery drivers short in the UK is also worrying. 

Thinking more short-term, Bryan Clover explained that the ‘pingdemic’ caused by track and trace notifications was also having a significant impact on independent retailers.

He said: “If you’re a small independent retailer with two staff, and you lose one or both, that affects your business in a big way.  If you’re B&Q and you have 30,000 staff, losing half a dozen doesn’t make any difference at all.  

“So, losing a body because they have to self-isolate for ten days has a disproportionately large impact on your business straight away, and it’s immediate because if you can’t process people through the tills you’re not taking money.”

In the same way that Independent businesses have risen to the challenge posed over the last 20 months, so has Stax. As always we will continue to work closely with BIRA and all independent retailers to secure the supply chain and remain relevant for the next 40 years.