Worksop retailer says loyal customers will help small shops thrive

Helen Parry, of Carlton House - a shared space for vintage arts and crafts retailers - told how small shops in the town had gained a whole new customer base during lockdown.

During the pandemic elderly and vulnerable people shielding from the virus have turned to local shops for many of the essential items they were unable to buy themselves from large supermarkets.

Mum-of-three Helen also believes isolated people in the area are longing to visit small retailers again who have greeted them with ‘a smile and a chat while wearing gloves and masks’.

Helen, who is reopening on Tuesday next week, said: “With the smaller places you don’t get these large surges of people and you can often phone them to ask if they have what you need - you don’t get that with large retailers.

“And people have been isolated for a while now and there’s a keenness to get back into the community - they miss that face-to-face chat with smaller, independent retailers.

“I just really hope all those traders who discovered new customers get to keep them - that the community supports local shops now.”

Speaking about operating under social-distancing guidelines Helen plans on staggering visitors six at a time at the three-storey, 15-room building.

She said: “I’ll be Ok because this is a big building with a covered-entrance and a courtyard – I can keep four people each two metres apart in any of the rooms.

“But for smaller places if you’re an experienced retailer you can always find a different way of doing things.

“The beauty of an independent is you have control to change things quickly - whereas with larger retailers there’s all the bureaucracy to get through.”

Former HR and business development consultant Helen said with the return of Worksop market days and social-distancing measures in place she was ‘optimistic’ about the coming weeks.

She said: “There’s a lot of effort going into getting things right and as long as everybody applies some good, old-fashioned manners we can get through this together.

“I think there are frustrations from the nail and beauty industry at the moment as they probably had their diaries open, expecting to be starting again.

“But I hope they will be allowed to reopen again soon.”

Helen, who be open from 10am-4pm Tuesday-Saturday from next week, also believes staycations will deliver a ray of light for retailers this summer.

She said: “This is the time of year when people are normally going off on holiday.

“Local retailers should be optimistic that with people staying home there will be extra footfall during the summer months.”

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