Seventy years ago when Marks & Spencer first opened its doors to Bristol’s Broadmead shoppers, the area was being developed as the shopping district in the city’s post-war reconstruction efforts. Last year Debenhams closed after 50 years and M&S left Broadmead earlier this year, soon after news came that The Galleries would be demolished, with businesses given two years to relocate.
The UK now heads into a recession and inflation remains at a 40-year high, as wages continue to stagnate, consumers no longer have the disposable income to shop in the way they once did. While multinationals like Amazon, have seen their billions of profits increase in the past few years, the financial picture for many independent businesses is much bleaker.
Monthany Tucker opened her plant shop at Broadmead’s Arcade just seven months ago after her business Green Fingers became popular on Facebook during the lockdown. Since she moved into the unit, wholesale plant prices have rocketed and now she can’t keep up with rent payments.
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Ms Tucker said, “After the lockdown I thought if I opened a shop in a public area, I’d probably sell more. In the last six months it’s been very expensive and I’ve had to put the price up and customers don’t want to pay the new prices.”
The Grade II-listed building - The Arcade constructed in 1824 - was branded as “The heart of interesting shopping” in 2018 when the building became fully occupied for the first time in years. There were high hopes for Rollin Vietnamese who up until a recent eviction order occupied three units.
Green Fingers will now follow suit as Ms Tucker struggles with increasing costs: “The plants have now doubled in price. I can’t even get enough money to pay the rent, I already spoke to the landlord and I will be closing the shop,” explains the sole trader.
Ms Tucker will be moving out and closing her shop permanently in January, less than a year after opening. According to a recent report from Power to change a record 16 per cent of Britain’s high street now stands empty and one in every 20 units has been shut for over three years.
Many retailers survive the increase in costs simply by upping their prices. Tailor’s, Needle and Thread, also in the Arcade said their electricity bill had gone up so in response, they increased their prices by three per cent.
The Black Sheep Coffee chain will soon be moving into The Arcade and Lidl and Roxy Lanes are both recent arrivals to Union Street. The risk is that as independent businesses continue to struggle, Bristol’s main shopping district will lose its character and be filled with chain stores.
Currently, there are around 110 independent businesses across Broadmead, The Galleries and The Arcade. Those who survive the double whammy of Covid and price hikes are having to be innovative in their approach and keep up with the latest trends.
With the Galleries set to be demolished in two years time, Bristol City Council is working towards a wider redevelopment of Broadmead that is in line with the vision of making the area safer, healthier and greener. Earlier this year, city Mayor Marvin Rees spoke of the need to create a Broadmead which was mixed, with more residential units.
The Galleries site spans five acres will become a mix of tall blocks of flats, including student flats, a hotel, offices and shops and bars in a complete transformation of a huge chunk of the city centre.
Hope for independent retailers in Broadmead
Many of the independents that remain have survived by supporting other independents. The Card Shack in the arcade sources materials locally, Prior in Quakers Friar is another example of this growing trend.
Vivienne Kennedy, head of Broadmead Business Improvement District (BID), said: "Beck, the founder of Prior, has been looking at ways to diversify and attract more footfall, hosting workshops, yoga classes and much more. She has recently closed her original shop in Old Market and is now concentrating fully on the Quakers Friars store but is worried about how much her energy bills are going to rise."
Other positive examples Ms Kennedy points towards are the growing number of sustainable fashion stores, such as the independent, high end designer thrift store Clothing Xchange which has been open for almost a year. Another business that has gained strength over the last year by combining the ethos of sustainability and supporting independent businesses is Art Club on Bond Street. Co-directors Corin Bush and Francis Reilly set up the indoor market and events space as a way to bring the community back into Broadmead.
The Art Club supports mainly sole traders who pay a set fee for rent so don’t have to worry about what their energy costs will look like in a few months time. They offer mainly sole traders the chance to expand by paying a set fee while Art Club manages bills.
Ashley Wain left engineering to sell pre-loved clothing and has gone from selling at markets twice a week to having a space in Art Club seven days a week. Mr Wain has minimal costs, he carefully selects clothing which he washes, steams and repairs before selling at Green Gherkin.
Mr Wain said, “Most of the stock is sourced locally, it’s a really sustainable way of finding clothes. I always make sure I look out for things that people really want to buy as well, everyone can find clothes but it’s clothes that people actually want to wear.
“There’s enough clothes in circulation now and there doesn’t necessarily need to be more clothes. Sometimes they do come with holes and stains when I find them and I sort of bring them back to life.”
Art Club co-director Francis Reilly added, “That’s what Art Club is all about, creating community and harmony. Re-worked, pre-used, pre-loved things are really important to the community and to the world because some people have got clothing which still has wear in it, once it has a wash, it’s fresh and ready to go. We’re only a stone’s throw away from Stokes Croft which has creativity and culture so we need to bring that into town to bring more money into town but that takes small independent businesses with a vision.
“We know what’s coming but we’re trying to be positive about it because if you have that negative process and you’re in a building with other people it can have a knock on effect. If things get tough now maybe they will get better in the future and it will balance out in time. In this current climate, I would hate to go into business and get a two or three-year contract, we give people six months, we give them a chance. They can give it six months and if it works they can extend it.
“We are a hub for small businesses and we are here to give people opportunities. We’ve said to BID, we want to bring the community back onto the high street because we believe it’s lost."
Ms Kennedy said of Art Club, “I really like what they are doing, they are using a space to bring independents together who couldn’t afford to have space individually. But by working together, they’ve created something really nice and interesting.”
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