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OVER THE COUNTER
Searching For The
Right Words... Independent card and gift retailer, David Robertson, co-owner of JP Pozzi in Scotland, searches for the right words to describe the current retail landscape. As retailers in these last few years we have at times been at a loss for words to describe the changes that are happening to retail every day. Then, a few weeks ago, I came across an article about the most searched for top ten words up until March 2019. Four of these were: Exonerate - after President Trump used it in a number of tweets; Ruthful - after a country music star in the States described her feelings in this way; Self-made - after Kylie Jenner became the youngest self-made billionaire; and Gesticulate - after a US talk show host was made fun of because of his wild gestures. All of these words are linked to social media, and no doubt people rushed to Google them to find out their meanings. In the UK, if we had the same survey just now, ‘Proroguing’ would be number 1 I reckon! I can’t recall this word having ever been discussed but now we are very aware that it may or may not be legal and that the poor Queen has been dragged into the Brexit mess. Another word that I came upon was ‘rumination’. This means a deep or considered thought and actually comes from ruminant animals such as goats and sheep who chew their food and regurgitate it! These last few months I feel I have been chewing like the goats, or maybe I have just become as stubborn as one. Going over words, numbers and thoughts time and again, I can’t seem to find the answers I need or am looking for. It feels almost as if we are not only stuck in a Groundhog Day scenario with Brexit but with the High Street as well. As I have been feeling burdened with all this negativity of late I made a conscious decision to go and listen to some different people speak about lots of subjects that were bothering me to see if these were just re22
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
occurring thoughts of mine or if other businesses and people felt the same way. Our Chamber of Commerce had arranged intimate lunches (15 people - single person representation - no press) with the Scottish Government Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, Jamie Hepburn and also our local MP Douglas Ross. I thought in this almost one-to-one situation in a locked room that there may have been more chance to get some real answers from these influential politicians. My questions (submitted in advance) were set against the backdrop of 2,870 shops having closed this year so far, so I felt that honesty and proper answers were needed now more than ever. My questions related to business rates, taxing internet-only retailers properly, the Living Wage, the minefield of energy pricing for businesses, lack of support at local government level and the big question - why is the High Street not supported with proper legislation rather than just another fund which is burned through quickly? Funnily enough, a bit like Brexit, the politicians, while sympathetic and understanding, offered no real insight, and
Above: What words define the current retailing landscape? Below: Words have always come easily to politicians. An image from Spitting Image by Roger Law and Peter Fluck.
after quoting a few projects they had been involved in were less than willing to get into the detail. I will try again with our Euro MP in a couple of weeks, but as he promised to come and see me around four months ago and has never appeared, I doubt that I will get any more from him. Words, in terms of politicians, seem to come easily and are not often followed through. The bland answer, where the fence post almost pops out their mouth as they sit on it, is part of the reason that we are in the mess that we are. I journeyed on, hoping that the next words I listened to were to be far more productive. Last month’s Autumn Fair had a stellar line up of speakers, and as I normally never have time to go to these things I made a conscious investment in myself, and my business, to attend. There have been many harsh words about trade fairs and lots of people asking if they are a thing of the past, for me I believe that visiting a trade fair is essential, not only to find product but to hear what is going on and just to immerse yourself in your business. I think that you owe yourself that. I attended Autumn Fair with a number of goals, but one goal was to listen to Mary Portas and Theo Paphitis who were there to discuss