CONFERENCE REPORT


HELPING INDIES THRIVE


The annual British Independent Retailer’s Association (BIRA) conference took place last month at the Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel. Delegates from across the retail sector came together to share ideas and gain inspiration on how to strengthen their businesses and to look at what will shape the independent retail landscape going forward.


I


n his report as BIRA CEO Alan Hawkins paid tribute to BIRA staff, following the association’s successful move


to its new headquarters in Birmingham. A strategy had been in place to get everyone onto one site following the merger with the British Shops and Stores Association (BSSA) seven years ago. “Things can only get better,” said Mr Hawkins, who explained that a number of staff had not made the move and other directors had departed due to a review of the board.


The association has taken over two buildings in the city and has also purchased a third building on the site, which could potentially be leased out in the future. “There’s enough space to meet our needs for the next two decades,” says Mr Hawkins. “It was a big job renovating the buildings to make sure they were ready for us to move into. We had some help from our suppliers, with Dulux sponsoring the paint. We also found asbestos in the cellar and had to have that removed, which meant we couldn’t use the central heating from November to February, so Calor supplied gas to help keep us warm.” He continued: “The new move gave us the impetus we needed. As part of that BIRA was forced to review its magazine division. We couldn’t produce four or five magazines for our different


16 DIY WEEK 16 JUNE 2017


members, so we struck a deal and put together a new team. It meant we and to say goodbye to Mick Weedon.” Deputy chief executive officer and communications director, Mr Weedon stepped down from his role last June after 30 years with the association. Since the conference, it was also revealed that marketing, member and publishing director Sarah Golden would depart after 15 years with BIRA. Mr Hawkins went on to talk about


BIRA’s new member magazine, which he is delighted with and describes as “in your face”. Members of the British Agricultural & Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) arm of BIRA will retain their own magazine and website, explained Mr Hawkins: “They see themselves as dealers rather than retailers”. However, a further merging of services means that BAGMA bank is now part of the BIRA portfolio. Mr Hawkins added: “The British


Hardware Federation (BHF) and Cookshop and Housewares Association (CHA) are both merging more with BIRA and becoming BIRA Hardware and BIRA Cookshop & Housewares.” Discussing member benefits, Mr Hawkins talked about BIRA’s new website and login, where members are able to enter confidential information. A digital boot camp has also launched in Shoreditch, while the association will continue running our courses at Oxford Summer School.


BIRA president Vin Vara was praised by Alan Hawkins in his CEO report


The association has also


re-launched and updated its rates White paper. “We need a complete review of our rates system as a country,” says Mr Hawkins, who praised the work of BIRA president and Tool Shop owner Vin Vara (pictured above) for his hard work campaigning on the issue. “Vin has been absolutely brilliant and has appeared on numerous media platforms. With nine


stores in London locations


– some of which are seeing rate increases of up to 40% – he has been a fantastic campaigner on the issue.”


With


a


new lobbyist,


Fiona


Cuthbertson, on board, Mr Hawkins added: “We should never miss a Government decision window or the chance to get BIRA’s point across again.”


Detailing other concerns for independent retailers, including the fact that parking “is still a major issue” for those operating on the high street, Mr Hawkins concluded: “Are we downhearted? Not a bit of it! According to the latest figures from the LDC, the high street is one of the expanding areas away from the internet.”


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