Fashion Figures Say ‘Shop Out, Help Out’ as U.K. Retail Reopens
LONDON — As nonessential retail stores in England prepare to reopen on April 12, campaign group Save the Streets is calling on the government to help boost footfall and support the independent high-street shops that have been hit the hardest.
The campaign is backed by many popular figures from the British fashion and beauty industries, including Mary Portas, Charlotte Tilbury, Charlie Casely-Hayford and Henry Holland, whose own label shuttered just before the COVID-19 outbreak. The British Fashion Council has also given the project its stamp of approval.
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Under the Save the Streets initiative, the government would be asked to cover 50 percent of the cost of goods purchased at independent retailers, capped at 10 pounds. The program would be open to shoppers at brick-and-mortar stores with fewer than 10 employees and be available every Monday to Wednesday, for a full month in the summer.
The model mirrors U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, introduced last summer to reenergize the restaurant business once lockdown lifted. That program was later criticized, as the influx of bargain-hunters at restaurants was linked to the spike in COVID-19 cases the U.K. experienced in late August and September and cost more than 849 million pounds.
The campaign group said it wants the government to fund the program by imposing a sales tax on online retailers, which have been able to continue operating throughout the lockdown. Independent brick-and-mortar businesses are estimated to have lost 22 billion pounds in sales over the last year.
According to Ross Bailey, chief executive officer at the retail marketplace Appear Here, and another major backer of the campaign, reopening doesn’t guarantee that shoppers will return to the stores, so extra support is needed for these businesses to have a chance at survival.
“There is no point opening up from lockdown if there is nothing to open up to. We would be kidding ourselves to think that everything will be fine for independent retailers once they reopen on April 12,” said Bailey. “The damage has been done over the last 12 months. Now it is the government’s responsibility to support these businesses and ensure they are given a fighting chance to bounce back.”
Tilbury, whose e-commerce business soared during lockdown, is also a firm believer in the importance of physical retail. She also expressed support for the program.
“Right now, independent retailers need us to continue sharing their magic. When you buy from an independent store, you are not only supporting our high streets and our local communities, you are helping to build a community spirit, and that has the power to change the world for the better.”
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