Jan 25, 2009

Independent gift retailers holding their ownBy John PenmanBusiness.TimesOnline.co.uk

Independent gift retailers in Scotland are defying the downturn and outperforming other high street traders, according to a survey.

Figures published last week by the Scottish Retail Consortium showed that non-food sales in December in Scotland suffered their worst fall since 1999, but a survey by the organisers of the country’s Trade Fair paints a brighter picture.

Some retailers have enjoyed a rise in sales after a poor autumn. Shops in the tourism sector said sterling’s weakness helped lift sales in December.

The Trade Fair, which opens in Glasgow today, has reported an increase in exhibitors to 370.

Mark Saunders, of Springboard, a co-organiser of the Trade Fair, said: “We’re very encouraged by the reports we have received from gift and small retail shops across Scotland. Many are seeing sales rise and are taking this opportunity to expand. The key to their success is offering unique gifts from small suppliers and providing a very personal, superior customer service.

“Obviously, they are all cautiously optimistic as to what the future will bring, but almost all say customers want to buy one-off gifts from innovative producers and don’t want the uniformity offered by many large high street retailers.”

Wendy Ross, of The Old Mill Gift Shop in Killearn, has just opened another shop in Milngavie, near Glasgow.

“We opened our new shop just as the economic downturn was really beginning to hit hard in the autumn and since then we have gone from strength to strength,” she said.

Read complete article.