A Greater Manchester business has been left reeling after one of its Christmas trees was stolen from their shop over the weekend. Owners of The Hive, a general store and bar in Altrincham, arrived at the shop on Monday to find one of its 5ft trees had been lifted over the gate the previous evening.
The Hive has been selling the British Nordmann trees for £60, while Fraser Firs go for between £65 and £85. The shop, which began as VH Interiors in the town’s market quarter, was set up by Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkin as a go-to for vintage and reclaimed homeware.
It has since moved to its showroom, The Hive, over by Navigation Road tram stop, and has been selling a number of festive wares and items including premium pine Christmas trees, wreaths and decorations.
Taking to Instagram to share the news, Steven said: “Good morning it is Monday the 12th December and it's a pretty s*** start to the week if I may say so myself.
“As a small, independent business every sale regardless of how big or small really does make a difference to us. That money doesn't go to a greedy CEO, it doesn’t go to people who are avoiding taxes, it goes to mine and Gareth’s pockets, it pays for the food on our table, it pays for the heating that heats our home and it keeps us in business, it allows us to buy more stock it allows us to do what we love doing which is being a business in the local community.
"So overnight, one of our gorgeous 5ft Nordmann Christmas trees, and the metal stand in which it was sat in, has been pulled from over the gate at 21.41 hours on Sunday the 11th of December. So I’ve put my former police cap on and already made my enquiries with A4 gallery over the road who have CCTV cameras, and once we see which direction the offender made off and by what means they made off, we will start tracking down other CCTV footage and then we will pass it over to the police.
“So just a little reminder, I suppose not a reminder but a statement, if you see a gorgeous, 5ft tree in a friend, relative, neighbours house, that is in one of these metal stands - this metal stand was one of six made exclusively for The Hive by our local blacksmith Steve - so if you do see that stand in that tree in someone’s house I don’t expect you to dob them in, obviously they’re your friends, relatives, they might be going through a hard time themselves, but just bare in mind that the tree has been stolen from a small, independent business and is in that home courtesy of The Hive.”
The post attracted a flurry of comments, with many keen to express their sympathy, while others explained that they had been in a similar situation. One person wrote: “This is so sad. Obviously stealing is wrong regardless but from a small business at such a hard time is unforgivable. If only people truly understood how hard it is to run a small business.”
Another added: “This happened to us last year. We had a tree chained to the front of the shop and someone stole it, with the stand and the lights! They would have had to feed the branches of the tree through the chain to get it free! Sorry to hear that happened guys xx.”
A third person expressed that they were sorry for not spotting anything when they passed the store earlier. “That’s terrible, I was near the studio Sunday but I left at 3 o’clock. So I’m really sorry I didn’t see anything. I really hope you find your tree. Why are people so cruel at this time of year, if they’re not nicking Christmas trees, they are leaving obscene and abusive messages to small independent sellers, who are just trying to make a living this Christmas! It’s proper bah humbug!!”
The owner’s responded to some of the comments to express their thanks for the support. “Thank you for the lovely words. It really does help.”
The owners told the Manchester Evening News : "“There’s a clear connection between the cost of living crisis and an increase in theft. Whilst we appreciate the most vulnerable members of society may feel no choice but to turn to stealing, it really does hit small business owners when they are the victims of the crime.
"We too are also dealing with the cost of living increases, and on top of that we are also dealing with the increased costs of running a small business. Small business owners are in a different league to the large corporations. We don’t force down the wholesalers on prices, we don’t take huge bonuses from excessive profits, we don’t even get sick pay.
"So to stay positive, we just keep imagining the tree thief has a family and that family are now fully immersed in the Christmas spirit, gathered around our gorgeous 5 ft Nordmann premium Christmas tree.”
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