Keeping a steak in their village (From Daily Echo)
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West Wellow supports the Daily Echo Buy Local, Shop Local campaign
9:40am Sunday 29th March 2009 in Buy Local Shop Local By Echo Reporter
JOINING CAMPAIGN: Butcher Mike Barrett with fellow traders in West Wellow. Echo picture by Paul Collins. Order no: 8302600
MIKE Barrett is determined his village will make the cut as the recession begins to bite.
Mike, who runs Mike’s New Forest Butchers, has signed up for the Daily Echo Buy Local, Shop Local campaign – and a whole host of independent retailers in West Wellow have followed suit.
The owners of Lower Common Road Stores, Country Consumables, Hair Review and Pharmacy Direct have all joined Mike in supporting our call to back traders in their hour of need.
He said: “There is a lot of work to be done to come through this difficult time. But there is a real community spirit here and it is unusual to see so many shops in one village.
“We’re happy to back the campaign and support anything that helps independent companies.”
Mike sells free range, regionally- sourced meat from his traditional, family-run shop in Lower Common Road.
And he is urging villagers to think local before driving to giant supermarket chains.
“People will still go to the big supermarkets, but we need to encourage them as much as possible to buy what they can in the village,” he said.
“Here, we really enjoy our job and hopefully that shows in the service.”
Mike Simpson from Country Consumables added: “If residents and shoppers don’t support the shops here, they will disappear – that’s the trouble.
“Some villages have no shops at all. If people want us to stay
Comments(6)
Boris Remmington
says...
1:22pm Sun 29 Mar 09
Costa Baz
says...
4:25pm Sun 29 Mar 09
IMO people will only use the small retailer as stop gap to the national chain, mainly because the national chain can usually offer goods at better prices, often with free parking facilities.
What the small retailer shouldn't lose sight of is that the consumer is also suffering as a result of the credit crunch, so their decision to shop further afield will often be driven by their own need to survive.
I sometimes wonder how much extra a retailer has to add to the retail price of his product to cover extortionate rents charged by greedy landlords.
The smaller the turnover the greater the percentage increase needed per item to help make a profit, making them less competetive.
Miles Sway
says...
5:57pm Sun 29 Mar 09
Boris Remmington wrote:Do you mean the one on the main road that was Moody's?
More interesting is the village shop which has not signed up ! Why ?
I understand they were really pi55ed off as they had their own butchery (over-priced, and poor quality) but till Mike Barret moved in no real alternative. Good luck to him and the others there.
Condor Man
says...
6:34pm Sun 29 Mar 09
Finlay
says...
2:48am Mon 30 Mar 09
Take a reality check either produce something that supermarkets dont have and focus on that - You do not have a hope in hell of competing on daily groceries so dont - It irritates people when you charge often twice the supermarket price and take the money with a cheery insulting smile. Whos stoopid here?
A short drive and my basket of goods is doubled for the same amount of $'s. The cash saved goes to buy more goods for my family and not the smiling corner shopkeepers.
Its over guys.
Get on with your lives
Miles Sway says...
1:19pm Sun 29 Mar 09