October/November 2024
housewareslive.net
Q&A
Question (Q):How are things? How has business been? Mrs Webb (MW): Things are going very well for us at the moment, we’ve been beginning to get our seasonal stock ready for both Halloween and already making a start on their Christmas shopping. season in the shop with us being a go-to for many local people looking to get Christmas decorations, cards and gifts, as well as, making sure they’ve got all the kitchen equipment they need to host on the big day.
Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges and proudest moments? MW: We are fortunate enough not to have had many ups and downs through the time the business has been running, although in 2013 the for two years whilst the shop was reconstructed. Luckily we came out the other side of it, thanks to the massive support from the local community and by running a pop-up shop in the front section of our ironmongery store. We struggled again when forced to close during the COVID
lockdowns, but again with huge amounts of support from the locals we pulled through and managed to survive when a lot of businesses across the country weren’t so fortunate.
Q: Are you a member of any associations and do you attend any industry trade shows? MW: We use both Bira and Home Hardware buying groups, and the main reasons behind this are that we can easily buy in bulk and also we get
RETAILER SPOTLIGHT
it allows us to compete with larger chains. This year we attended
both Top Drawer and which we found very helpful for meeting up with reps of brands we already stock, and also discovering new products. We used to attend the Spring Fair at NEC Birmingham, but since COVID have decided to stick to the London trade shows which are easier for us to get to given our location. Housewares particularly helpful as it is very much aligned with most of the catalogues of products we stock in our shop such as kitchenware, cookware, small electrical appliances and other home items.
Q: Who are your main suppliers? Which item lines sell well? Why do you think that is? MW: We deal with a lot of big names in our different departments. Taylor’s Eye Witness, and Kuhn Rikon, our china from Portmeirion and Emma Bridgewater, and glassware from Dartington and Royal Scot. In the upstairs of the shop, we supply Mayoral and Kite baby clothing, as well as JellyCat soft toys. All of these are big sellers for us, especially
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