Helping local business...

Written on: 16 May 2011

Mary Portas advises PM on helping local business...

So this week we have the news that so called queen of shops Mary Portas has finally grabbed the ear of the Prime Minister David Cameron who wants a little advice on how local community stores can be saved from the onslaught of their bigger, more competitive national rivals.

Portas has long been running a campaign calling for the likes of Tesco to work alongside rather than against their local counterparts using their massive profits to help the very businesses that struggle because of them. Now in her new role as Government advisor she claims she will help to thrash out in the next six months, a serious plan to rescue the UK's high streets.

But in reality can it really be done? Such campaigns have been attempted before and whilst consumers may say they want to shop in their local stores and support their local businesses convenience, time and cost savings more often than not win the battle for spend over a shopper's conscience or desire to be supporting local companies.

But equally the national giants don't want to be seen as destroying the communities into which they enter. With the accusations that their rollouts were causing a clone town effect still ringing in their ears many multiples need to support the efforts of the agents, developers and shopping centres with which they work to sustain and grow local businesses alongside their own.

Whatever happens Portas' role will be an interesting one. While in theory the bigger players could, as she suggests, put their hand in their pockets to support the smaller, local retailers ultimately more radical thinking - such as closer partnerships between national and local retailers - is needed. That however is unlikely to happen. Instead the real battle is in persuading local shoppers to dual shop - supporting both their local butchers, bakers and greengrocers for example - on top of their regular supermarket shops.

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