12th June 2008
Small businesses in Reading are giving the Federation of Small Businesses' Keep Trade Local campaign a boost.
Local stores in the town are displaying Keep Trade Local signs in shop windows and have signed a petition calling for the Prime Minister to "secure the future of small shops across the UK and safeguard the choice and competition that people expect."
The petition was set up on the Downing Street website by the FSB and has attracted over 3,500 signatures.
FSB Thames Valley Spokeswoman Karen Duncan told Reading Business Post that supporting Reading's small shops and businesses was vital to preserving the distinctive nature of shopping areas in the city.
She also highlighted the contribution that small businesses make to local communities.
"Over half of business turnover from independents is returned to the community," she said. "The same cannot be said of the supermarkets."
Local butcher Philip Hyslop said the opening of large chain supermarkets had seriously affected local businesses, Reading Business Post reported.
"It's been tragic to see so many local shops closing over the years as the supermarkets drag business away," he said.
The Keep Trade Local campaign was triggered by a report from the House of Commons All-Party Small Shops Group which warned that 50,000 independent retailers could close by 2015.
The report states that smaller retailers are under-represented and there exists an environment where their needs are largely misunderstood or ignored.
"It is not accepted that good, and in many cases vital, businesses should be placed under undue pressure because of a great deal of insensitivity to their needs within the UK," the report argued.
"People will not just be disadvantaged in their role as consumers but also as members of communities."
'Keep Trade Local' say small firms in Reading
Local stores in the town are displaying Keep Trade Local signs in shop windows and have signed a petition calling for the Prime Minister to "secure the future of small shops across the UK and safeguard the choice and competition that people expect."
The petition was set up on the Downing Street website by the FSB and has attracted over 3,500 signatures.
FSB Thames Valley Spokeswoman Karen Duncan told Reading Business Post that supporting Reading's small shops and businesses was vital to preserving the distinctive nature of shopping areas in the city.
She also highlighted the contribution that small businesses make to local communities.
"Over half of business turnover from independents is returned to the community," she said. "The same cannot be said of the supermarkets."
Local butcher Philip Hyslop said the opening of large chain supermarkets had seriously affected local businesses, Reading Business Post reported.
"It's been tragic to see so many local shops closing over the years as the supermarkets drag business away," he said.
The Keep Trade Local campaign was triggered by a report from the House of Commons All-Party Small Shops Group which warned that 50,000 independent retailers could close by 2015.
The report states that smaller retailers are under-represented and there exists an environment where their needs are largely misunderstood or ignored.
"It is not accepted that good, and in many cases vital, businesses should be placed under undue pressure because of a great deal of insensitivity to their needs within the UK," the report argued.
"People will not just be disadvantaged in their role as consumers but also as members of communities."
- 21st November 2008 Official retail figures 'hide tough condition', says BRC
- 20th November 2008 Entrepreneurs 'should be school governors'
- 19th November 2008 Small businesses urged to register hazardous substances
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon