Observing optimism
Though small businesses are struggling, there is still room for optimism. Looking around my local area of Kennington and its various independent shops and restaurants, I have witnessed differing responses to the lockdown. Two favoured restaurants have taken different approaches: one has turned itself into a take away, while the other has deftly transformed itself into a quasi-farmers’ market. My local bakery shut up shop but continues to do a good trade from the kitchen at the back. Then there is a local florist who ‘put a notice in the window’ for customers to email her for orders. I contacted all four businesses requesting to speak to them about their experiences. Only the florist was open to interview — perhaps a mark of the heightened sensitivities people are feeling at this present time.
Flower power
Speaking to Mary Woolcot, owner of Windmill Flowers, positioned in the quaintly named Windmill Row, it became clear that this pandemic has pushed her to focus on customer retention and growth more than ever. Despite trading in Kennington for almost ten years and having built up a loyal local customer base, the pandemic has resulted in ‘a big slump in income’ and seen her apply for government business support. This ‘provides comfort in knowing that that the rent will be paid’ but it cannot be the long-term coping strategy. Unlike other fellow florists who supply hotels and restaurants, Mary’s business focuses on individual custom which, in some ways, has afforded her some protection. ‘[D]emand is still there’ she is keen to tell me but this, she has realised, is not enough to keep competition at bay. A ‘bone of contention’ has come from stores such as Tesco who remain open due to their ‘essential’ status and thus, can continue to sell flowers. This, she declares, ‘has made me realise that I need to be more aggressive with my website … I need a stronger online presence’. The last few weeks has seen her speaking to web designers to ‘generate more online orders’. ...
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