Health Stores UK Business Development Manager Dave Christie and Committee Member Cheryl Thallon represented the Association at this year’s Bira Conference, which was held in central London earlier this month.
In a packed day of presentations and talks, prominent figures from the world of independent retail, politics and small business promotion looked at trends on the High Street, latest technology, sustainability and money saving services.
Key quotes from the day included this from Bira CEO, Andrew Goodacre: “You’re not doing it because you want to be the next Primark, you’re doing it because you believe in what you do!” And there was this thought-provoking observation from Ojay McDonald, Chief Executive Officer at the Association of Town and City Management, who told delegates: “The High Street is not something we need, so we need to make it something we want!”.
For Cheryl, highlights from the day included a session that asked the question ‘Can charity shops be good for indie retail?’. Presenter, Wayne Hemingway MBE – founder of CharitySuper.Mkt – set out to show how a new way of curating charity shops, as multi-charity pop-ups, is helping dispel the idea that charity shops ruin high streets. The CharitySuper.Mkt model, he said, had proved to be “an wakening experience” for Gen Z and Gen A consumers, with the potential to revitalise struggling high streets. An inspiring session from Gary Fannin and Natalie Lindsay of the Wandsworth Bridge Road Association, showed how an imaginative community and trader partnership had transformed a polluted, jammed up high street into a greener, cleaner shopping ‘destination’.
Meanwhile, the new Government’s Minister for Small Business, Gareth Thomas, said “all the right things about a business rates review, levelling up online and bricks and mortar retail and investment in the High Street leaving Cheryl “feeling optimistic” about the current direction of travel.
Image: Bira CEO, Andrew Goodacre, addresses this month’s Conference. Bira, via social media
