One of the owners of long-standing running shop Run and Become, which stood for 22 years on St Mary Street in Cardiff, has opened up on the reasons for the shop's closure. The Cardiff branch shut its doors for good in July, leaving the London branch as Run and Become's sole remaining location.
The shop had become just as well-known for its friendly advice on gait and running shoes as it was for the actual products, but the shop closed for a number of reasons - including business rates that left them with an unworkable bill.
Managing director and co-owner Shankara Smith told WalesOnline: "Closure was a sad decision but also the right one for us at this time. We loved our time in Cardiff (we first opened on Wood Street in 2000).
"Rent and particularly rates - even after the financial crises of 2009 reduced the former - have always struck me as on the high side for the opportunities Cardiff City centre offer and that meant we always had to watch things carefully to stay in the black."
She said there were a "number" of reasons for ultimately deciding to close, including the manager of 22 years deciding to step down and the financial impact of lockdowns (although she indicated Cardiff council offered some help with this). But she added: "If I was asked what one change could have seen us keep our shop it would be a radical overhaul of the rates system."
Ms Smith added that business rates hadn't significantly increased during the shop's tenure, and that high street relief given from 2020 had negated the increases that had happened. She said support the shop had relieved was "generous," but that there was a "country wide issue" of business rates being set in a way that "entirely failed to take into consideration the changing retail landscape with the growth of internet sales."
The multipliers for business rates are set by the Welsh Government. A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We appreciate how difficult recent years have been for businesses. Through rates reliefs and grant schemes we provided more than £2.2bn of support during the pandemic, including 100% relief for most retailers.
"In the current financial year our rates relief schemes are supporting more than 85,000 properties across Wales with their bills. The package includes £116m of relief targeted at businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.
"As we continue our economic recovery it will be crucial to find a balance between ensuring revenue is collected to fund the local services we all use, and securing a fair and sustainable contribution from businesses. We are in the early stages of reforming non-domestic rates, for example through more frequent revaluations.
"We will also undertake a review of our rates relief schemes to ensure they’re delivering support in the most effective way. As we consider further reforms we will work closely with business representatives as we seek to achieve a fair, sustainable system."
Ms Smith added: "Unquestionably the decision was made easier by us not feeling we were letting out staff down, with both managers moving on and our other staff easily able to find good alternative jobs. We always worked closely with our Cardiff team - they made the shop a place runners loved to come to - so it was important to us that they were all going to be okay. We are so grateful to them for their service to our wonderful customers and the way they supported us right up to the closure."
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