Quite a bit of fuss is being made about Small Business Saturday in Wales.
I can’t really get that excited about it – despite the hype. Welsh small businesses, particularly high street retailers, need the public’s support all year round not one (probably chilly) Saturday in December.
It all feels a little Big Issue (no emails please, I buy it quite regularly) – I don’t think retailers, or any small business for that matter, wants a handout from the public, they want custom.
I know it means well but this campaign (sorry, day) just feels like the public are being encouraged to pat a few small businesses on the head for a few hours and everything will be alright. It won’t.
What small, independent businesses need is a real campaign of pressure on government and local authorities to ensure rates and rents are fair and affordable. It would be nice to see someone in government grow some balls and curb the powers of the large supermarkets – they really are ruining the high street (even if they don’t really mean to) and a bit of a kick up the backside to consumers to remind them that quaint, high street businesses aren’t there just to make them feel ‘warm and fluffy’ about where they live.
It’s Christmas in a few weeks and, like puppies, small businesses should be for life, not just so a few people can tick their feel good boxes. If small businesses in Wales are going to be ‘patronised’, it needs to be done in the right way – and that’s all year round.
