Jeweller: This could kill off my business

JEWELLER Alyssa Smith said the loss of the Saturday postal service would probably force her to shut down her online business.

The 37-year-old started the company from scratch 1 years ago and designs her own jewellery sold through her website, House of Alyssa Smith.

She said the proposed reduction in Royal Mail deliveries was ‘very stressful’ and ‘would shut me down’.

Her Hertfordshire- based company employs five staff and has an annual turnover of around £ 00,000. However, profit margins are tight and delivering her jewellery safely and efficiently to customers is a vital part of her business.

Asked about losing Saturday deliveries, she said: ‘We have to use Royal Mail at the moment and if they do that, it is black and white – we would have to close down.’

Switching to a courier company isn’t financially viable as her business insurance would ‘almost double’ and it would significantly hike delivery costs and overheads, Ms Smith said. ‘Using anyone else is so much more expensive and right now you can’t pass that on to the consumer as disposable income is right down as it is and jewellery is considered a luxury item, so people may then go without.’

Business around Christmas and Black Friday would be especially hit hard. ‘I’ve spoken to my customers today and they have told me if they do that they won’t reuse us as they won’t know when their post is coming. A lot of our customers work full-time so they wait in on a Saturday for the post.’

Although jewellery is delivered in large letters, some are signed for, left with neighbours or not pushed through letterboxes properly and Saturday delivery is considered important for many customers, Ms Smith said.

‘Many people pay extra for a Saturday delivery,’ she added. ‘People do want things on a Saturday for whatever reason, especially at Christmas.’

Ms Smith, who recently had a baby, said: ‘This is a massive worry. I don’t know what we will do.’