Penarth traders in town centre plea to residents

The Vale came under new lockdown restrictions on Monday evening, and most traders have seen a drop in sales this week, with some saying they are expecting this period to be harder than the national lockdown earlier in the pandemic.

Forty-seven independents have signed up to the town’s first ever “Fiver Fest”. All will provide a £5 offer between October 10 and 24 to entice shoppers to their establishments, but the challenge of keeping them there long enough to have a lasting impact on revenue is now particularly tricky.

Hollie Aldridge at Griffin Books, who has taken a lead with the Fiver Fest, is hopeful the scheme can provide the impetus for sustainable change.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the community and we have learned a lot from lockdown and managed to develop,” she said, citing that the shop has moved its books online for the first time.

“We had to adapt to compete with the Amazons and other chains almost overnight.

“We have been lucky that people seem to have wanted to read and switch off from the news coverage on the TV, but we have seen a drop in sales compared to where we were at before lockdown.

Hollie Aldridge

“I’d like to think we’re in a better position this time around to tackle the lockdown. We feel we’re used to it and have the online presence to survive it.

“We have done a lot of online events with authors – more than what we would have done in normal times.

“They’ve been really popular and we’ve often sold out.”

Online presence are the buzzwords among many traders now in a town which has been lauded for its ability to attract shoppers for a long time.

“We want to make sure that history continues, starting with Fiver Fest,” Ms Aldridge said.

“Making this sustainable is going to be the hardest thing. I think it can be a catalyst to get people into the shops and give traders a chance to show what we have on offer.”

Griffin Books is also considering trialling a 30-minute appointment based process through lockdown which allows shoppers to book time to privately browse the store after paying a deposit.

Ms Aldridge added: “We have to keep diversifying if we are to manage through winter. Usually people would come in at Christmas and buy stacks of books after browsing. Our challenge is to try and get them to do the same in a new way.”

Arguably no-one has tried to diversify their business in Penarth more than Charlotte Court and Matt Holland at Willmore’s.

But if the new lockdown measures tighten further, Ms Court says they may have to close.

“I like the idea of Fiver Fest and I’m sure it will work to get people in the shops for the two weeks, but we need to also be planning ahead for next year,” she said.

“We’ve obviously heard lots about the safe zone and extra space possibly being looked into for April time, and the extra space outside has certainly helped me through this period so far.

“Without being afforded the opportunity to expand into the spaces outside to cover what we’ve lost indoors, I don’t think we’d have survived.

“We lost four weddings this summer and a lot of outdoor catering. We’ve had to try to cover the impact of that by doing takeaway meals.”

Charlotte Court

It is only the second full day of the new lockdown [Wednesday] and Ms Court says she has seen a significant and worrying drop in sales.

“We reopened after the first lockdown nine weeks ago and I’ve not seen a big drop in sales until recent days. One of the days we saw a 50 per cent drop.

“I think some people are confused as to what they can and can’t do, while others don’t want to come and shop having to wear a mask all the time.”

While Ms Court didn’t want to be drawn on whether the town requires a pedestrian-friendly area [or a 'safe zone'], she says “right decisions need to be made” for hospitality businesses in the town to make it through to next year.

“I’m not suggesting the support isn’t out there. We’re hoping for some more support with outdoor heaters under the canopy, and I think that’s the kind of thing we need to bring customers here in this new lockdown.

“It’s so important to shop locally, and we’re all behind that – but it needs to come to fruition because without more shoppers we won’t last.”

Penarth stalwart Sian Fox says she has never been more grateful to her loyal customers who she has established ties with over the years and who helped her make the previous lockdown a success. But she is sure this lockdown will be more difficult.

“I know a lot of traders who are really scared,” she said.

Sian Fox

“It will be harder than the first lockdown for us. Before people couldn’t go out and Tesco was full up with delivery slots, so people came to us. 

“We were doing 360 deliveries a week. Now we are around six or seven a day, and I think that’s because people are going to supermarkets.

“Under the new restrictions people can’t come and have a coffee with their friends either. And if they can’t do that they won’t come to the town and mill around in other shops.

“We’re lucky we have got other streams of revenue and own the building. If that wasn’t the case I’d be extremely worried.

“People need to shop locally for Penarth to continue as it is [not a 'clone town'], but people have too much money tied up in their mortgages.

“I’m not convinced ideas like making Penarth more welcoming will bring more people here to make a significant difference.

“I think traders need to club together with a website so shoppers can order the produce online and have it at their doors the next day. That seems to me to be the best chance for us all to get through this.”