Mary Portas joins an effort to “rewild retail”
(Picture: Getty Images)London’s independent retailers are about to be offered some big-name help as they deal with the pressures of soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
Mary Portas, the broadcaster and high street consultant, has announced a new partnership with Ankorstore, an e-commerce wholesaler with a wide range of artisanal products often unavailable at major national and international chains.
“London is the greatest retail city in the world and small business is the absolute lifeblood of society. We can give them collective buying power,” Portas told the Standard.
“Even the big boys are looking to get back into local, because we’ve all realised that is the way we are going to be living. We will see local economies building back better.”
Portas -- who made the Mary Queen of Shops and What Britain Buys television series -- will work with Ankorstore to issue reports and trend forecasting specifically covering the UK’s independent retail scene. There will be roundtable events for retailers to help them understand the latest industry trends and adapt to them, just as rising inflation makes the competition for customers even more intense.
“Some of the biggest growth areas have been the local butcher and the greengrocer who have been able to deliver and compete on price during Covid,” said Portas. “This is a fit-for-purpose local economy for the way we live and buy today”.
Ankorstore said the collaboration intends to “rewild retail”, by helping smaller shops scale up their business via a low minimum spend of £100 and 60-day payment terms with delivery within 48 hours. Among its London partners are Soul Fruit, which also sells its sun-dried snacks in Selfridges, and UpCircle Beauty, a cosmetics brand which won backing from investors in the BBC business hit Dragons’ Den.
The company lists 20,000 products from entrepreneurs behind a wide range of goods from Beeble premium honey-flavoured spirits to Fin Museau vegan dog treats. It was founded in France in 2019 and is now active in 33 countries. It is valued at €1.75 billion.
