Forres shops need festive cheer
POLITICIANS were amongst the Christmas shoppers on Forres High Street at the weekend during the first ever ‘Small Business Saturday’.
Moray MP Angus Robertson and Richard Lochhead MSP talked with traders, including Federation of Small Business (FSB) members, and fellow shoppers whilst encouraging consumers to shop local on the busiest shopping day of the year and beyond. The campaign follows recent promotion of Shop Local and the £10 Trail campaigns in Forres.
Escorted by Pearl Hamilton, chair of Moray and Keith FSB, the pair spoke to shop owners at Pearls Pet Care, Fraser Brothers, Murdoch Brothers, Oh How Sweet, The Almost Famous Bakery, Sheena’s, Babalu, Chimes, Fast Fix, Highland Army Surplus and Little Flower.
"Forres’ strength lies with the significant number of independent shops that offer a very broad range of often unique products," said Mr Robertson. "That provides a different shopping experience for people and one that the public appears to appreciate."
His colleague Mr Lochhead was pleased to meet local traders and promote the shop local message.
"It was great to meet business owners in Forres and hear how trade is at the moment. It is important that the wider community continues to support our local High Street Traders in the face of growing competition from online retailers and out of town shopping.
"The High Street continues to be at the heart of communities like Forres and the FSB continues to be a strong advocate for our business community."
Mrs Hamilton, owner of Pearl’s Pet Care, said: "The campaign is tied in with the trade local idea that if people spend their money in the community that they’re from, value will be added to that community rather than on chains with most of the money leaving the area.
"On Saturday we met several folk who had been shopping in Inverness but had come back to Forres for certain things. I found it heartwarming that they’d chosen to return late in the day to shop locally."
Sharon Robertson of Varis Crafts at Bogton Place reported a good day’s trade on Saturday. She added: "The Forres £10 Trail has been a success in the shop and the run up to Christmas has been good with steady sales for supplies and for finished items.
"Small Business Saturday is a great idea to encourage shoppers to spend in their local independent shops. I think it created interest in the town on an important shopping day of the year.
"Being a member of the FSB helps. They offer somewhere to go if you want to discuss your business needs, be it tax enquiries or just as a support network with other small businesses."
Read the full story in this week’s ‘Gazette’.