Ciren Scene Magazine - Establishing Local Connections
Chamber News Chamber Snapshot April 2021
Re-opening the high street after lockdown
In the April issue of Ciren Scene we made the point that during the first lockdown, for many high street businesses it was not simply a case of switching everything online and ‘carrying on trading.’ Many shops simply had to close and hope that the gov- ernment support grants would see them through to reopening on 12th April.
We have spoken to a number of owners to see how the reopening of their shops has gone over the last two weeks and the results were very interesting.
Danielle, one of the owners of Turner and Hares, the men’s and ladies’ fashion retailer in Castle Street said it was great to be back and that whilst they had had a steady flow of predominantly local customers, it was early days and they have a lot of ground to make up. Keeping customers safe is key and they were fortunate in having a large shop where social distancing is easy and with a door at the front and back, they are able to get plenty of fresh air flowing through the shop. Any items that are tried on are steam cleaned before being put back on display and delicate items are quarantined for 72 hours.
Compare that with the Corn Hall Market who oper- ate an established Covid-safe one way system. Chris Bellamy who owns Elephant Silks and Crafts, speak- ing on behalf of the stall holders, said they were very dependent on visitors and that because the hospital- ity sector is closed until 21st June, the day when lots of customers will be in the Corn Hall is some way off. The first week of 12th April was very quiet so to try to make up ground, the Corn Hall is now open 7 days a week. Chris felt customers had money in the bank and were keen to keep it in their pockets rather than spend it. In particular Chris was critical of the coach stop being relocated away from the Market Place which made it very hard.
New shop owner Julian Pett of The Skinny Dog Ex-
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perience which sells musical instruments and vintage jewel- lery, just off Crick- lade Street has an eclectic offering as well as an intriguing
shop name. His first week back was quiet but the second week has been much better. In order to keep people safe, he stands outside his shop to monitor customer flow but also to meet and greet. He is also experimenting with putting his stock out- side with a different theme each week. Although he agrees that there are only a handful of visitors, cus- tomers certainly have money to spend.
Hilly at Jungle in Blackjack Street is in a different position and part of town. She has loyal regular cus- tomers and throughout lockdown she used her web- site but said it wasn’t an e-commerce site but merely introduced her range and she preferred to offer a ‘click and collect’ service. She was also an avid user and supporter of the Cirencester Locals website. For Hilly - flexibility is key. She has reduced her hours each day to allow for private appointments but was also opening on Sundays. She agreed that custom- ers lacked confidence and that she wanted them to feel safe so was going to great lengths to sanitise and clean the fitting rooms as well as the stock be- tween customers. She also ‘fogged’ the whole build- ing once a month just to be absolutely certain.
Moving finally to another part of Círencester, #Now Vintage, with Sarah and her five interiors’ colleagues specialising in homes and gardens. They are located
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