Battling traders unite to fight back

Dec 3 2008 by Barry Turnbull, Liverpool Daily Post

Small firms in the region are banding together to beat the credit crunch, as Barry Turnbull discovers

SMALL businesses are discovering there is strength in numbers. Traders and retailers are banding together to improve their collective muscle as the newly-formed Old Swan Business Association has recently demonstrated.

More than 80 Old Swan shopkeepers and other businesses have formed a self-help group to attract more customers to the suburban shopping area.

Elsewhere, other pioneering initiatives include buying collectives for bulk purchasing schemes.

Recently-opened shopping development Liverpool One is proving such a draw that other town centres and out-of-town retail parks are having to step up their game to compete.

As well as having to fend off the large supermarket chains, which continue to expand apace, small, local retailers must now cope with the downturn.

Frodsham Forward has been pioneering its own local self-help initiative for the past five years.

Small firms and retailers in the town have joined forces to launch a website called “Find It in Frodsham’’.

Barrie Davidson, owner of the town’s Stationhouse microbrewery, said: “The aim is to spread the word and encourage people to shop locally. We also emphasise that using local produce cuts down on food miles.”

Rob Crowther, managing director of Frodsham’s Devonshire Bakery, added: “You have to be more pro-active these days. We started a loyalty card scheme some time ago that rewards people for shopping locally.

“Businesses are working together to promote themselves because there is a lot of competition out there. An online presence is another way of doing that.”

The Old Swan Business Association aims to promote the diversity and advantages of a local centre which includes a supermarket, high street shops, discounters and even banks, building societies and legal services.

A directory has been produced to advertise what’s on offer in Old Swan.