Peaks And Troughs

“The first quarter is always an anxious time as, given the past few years in particular, there is no 'normal trading ' or option to predict sales with any confidence,” says Liz Kemp, owner of Kemps General Store and Kemps Books in Malton. “That said, we beat our targets – although not by much - but we beat them.”

Explains Liz: “We chose to open every Bank Holiday in April and May, operating normal opening hours, and have continued Sunday opening throughout the first few months (but with some reduced staff levels) which all seems to have paid off. People love that we are open when many other indie businesses in town have chosen not to be and we have been reaping the benefits.

“Luckily for us there is a large food festival in Malton twice a year and so the May events boost sales which in some way compensates for any potential reduced footfall on bank holidays - especially Coronation Day.”

As for how people are shopping. Liz points out that they are taking more care. “Our average transaction has dropped slightly, but we seem to be attracting more custom, so it is balancing out. The fact we sell a significant number of books since we expanded during Covid has been a massive help in maintaining sales, as book buyers are pretty constant and regular once you have won them over.” Nevertheless, she adds that times are still unpredictable. “Margins are being squashed and the constant dilemma of how much to pass on the increases remains. We hope our new loyalty scheme, and continuing to partner with other local businesses will help us retain and expand our customer base and brand awareness. We continue to focus on offering a great shopping experience, varied price points and making our shop a destination in its own right. In this way we can try and be more resilient to the economic challenges and keep business strong.”

“2023 is turning out to be an amazing year for The Mains of Drum Garden Centre,” says director Craig Forbes. “Our Gift and Indoor lifestyle department has seen a 10% increase in sales compared with the same period in 2022, while our Clothing department is far exceeding our expectations,” confirms Craig.

“Overall, we are now ahead of where we were pre-pandemic. On the downside however, our outdoor living and plant sales have suffered a little due mainly to the wetter and cooler weather we have experienced this Spring. However, there is plenty time to turn that around! As we expected, the day of the Coronation was very quiet, but this was balanced out with buoyant sales on the additional Bank Holiday Monday.”

Above: Mains of Drum Garden Centre, Banchory.

“We’ve had a great start to 2023,” enthuses Michael Apter, owner of three Paper Tiger stores in Edinburgh. (The third story opened in a former Paperchase outlet in mid May). “The volume of visitors to Edinburgh has grown hugely and we are also seeing greater numbers of office workers back in the city centre, especially midweek. The combination of the two has pushed footfall levels up close to pre-pandemic numbers, and we are now trading well ahead of where we were before Covid.”

Explains Michael: “Sales are being driven by events and occasions, and we are enjoying strong sales of souvenirs, gifts for the home and bath and beauty products. With our newly opened store, we are looking forward to a busy summer season in the city.”

Above: The newly opened Paper Tiger, Edinburgh.

“January started extremely well for us, year on year,” confirms Judy Evans, owner of Williams of Audlem in Audlem. “The cold weather gave us an extended season on hats, scarves and gloves - always a bonus when you don't get left with too much seasonal stock to put away, or discount. February was also quite positive as Spring Fair gave us a real spring in our own step, and a renewed optimism seemed to be in the air with falling energy prices.

“However, following more bad news on the cost-ofliving crisis, coupled with several interest hikes, March and April seemed to flatline - despite excellent Mother's Day and Easter sales. Thank goodness for seasonal occasions!

“But just when sales looked as though they were up one day and down the next, along came the Coronation. Three cheers! We took a risk by devoting lots of window and store space to the event, and buying in popular, practical products, along with a few flags of course. It was a gamble, as there hadn't been a Coronation in our store since 1953even though we'd had three before that, as we started in 1862 - so demand was always going to be a bit tricky to judge! Therefore, it's good to report that sales were certainly ‘King Size’ for us over the period. It's been the jewel in the Spring season so far, with anything British related selling like a sausage down a royal corgi! We've had fantastic sales of Union Jack branded goods from Woven Magic, Lua and Riva, along with strong sales of New English Tea's products.”