Save our Towns and Cities!

Retail is in the news all the time. Everyday we hear about another retailer who has filed for administration. For everyone concerned it is a worrying time. It is sometimes forgotten that families and communities rely heavily on the income a particular retailer can bring to a town or city.

Go to any town or city and walking around you will see empty shops either boarded up or abandoned. Look inside and you can see how they were left when the employees were told they had lost their jobs.

There is however hope for our High street towns and city centers. It is not all doom and gloom. It is time to make changes and fight back. As retailers we need to get together as a community to provide a better retail experience all round.

We need to attract customers by having a clean, tidy and welcoming environment. Visitors and customers should feel safe and have easy access to all facilities. The customer offer should also incorporate the towns unique features and make them a tourist destination for tourism as well as local residents to shop and be entertained.

Town centers need to have active town management and groups of retailers who can adapt to change and develop new services. We need to understand our town and fall in love with it all over again.

As retailers once we have some of the above in place, then it is time to work towards creating an environment where people want to shop,meet friends and stay into the evening for entertainment. Our High street towns should be open 24/7 , 7 days a week.

It is time for change,lets work together as a community!