BUSINESSES FIGHTING HARD TO OVERCOME LOCKDOWN UNCERTAINTY
IT’S the middle of May and the sun has been shining for weeks. But even if the weather isn’t great, you can always expect to find Mumbles busy with locals and tourists. Until now.
Instead, the coronavirus lockdown has meant all pubs, hairdressers, beauty salons and some shops have been shut since the end of March.
For this village the virus has had a devastating impact on businesses, just like it has everywhere in the world.
When lockdown eventually ends, there’s a big worry about what the future may hold for businesses.
Chairman of Mumbles Trade and Tourism Association Paul Whittaker has acknowledged the fact that some businesses will struggle and could potentially close after the lockdown.
“When we come out of this there will be a proportion of businesses that won’t be open because they were struggling before the lockdown and this was the final nail in the coffin.
“A few businesses will close, but it’s the same across the world,” he said.
“It’s going to be a struggle for the next year, if you are a shoe shop with £20,000-£30,000 of stock and you come out of this in a different fashion season, what do you do with all that stock? So they may suffer.”
Mr Whittaker said that despite everything, some businesses are still busy.
“I’ve spoken to a few of them, a lot of them have said they are still as busy as they were but in a different way.
“Instead of them being busy in the shop they are busy doing deliveries so a lot of them have taken on temporary staff.
“If they do decide to open some of the hospitality businesses at the beginning of July, it doesn’t mean that people are going to go out and use these facilities.
“A lot of people I spoke to won’t be venturing out to pubs or mass gatherings, if there are any, until the end of the year or next year because they have spent so much time in isolation that they don’t want the risk of actually catching anything.
“We are not at the end, we are at the very beginning of this. It could go either way and people could support local businesses and the big businesses struggle.”
Even though some businesses are still able to trade during the lockdown, others simply can’t.
Lara Johnson has owned hairdressers Lara Johnson Lifestyle for 25 years.
She has a team of 22 stylists who are all furloughed. Lara is hoping to reopen in July.
“This year is our 25th anniversary of the salon, every month we had huge events planned for the team and the clients.
“In the early days of lockdown I was phoning clients and moving them back, then moving them back again.
“When we were first told we would be closed for the first three weeks, no one thought it would be as long as what it has turned out to be,” she said.
Lara admits that a second peak is a massive worry for her.
“Our gate to reopen is July 4 as long as the R doesn’t go back up, it’s so hard for us.
“When we do reopen what we have decided to do is to be far more flexible with the rota and team.
“The salon will be open from 8am8pm with staff working on split shifts.
“Everything is in place to protect us and the clients.
“Already I can see that people are getting more relaxed and I can see that far more people are out now.
“To have a second spike is massively on my mind, we are definitely not over it. We can’t afford as hairdressers to be pushed back any further,” she added.
She hopes this will have a positive effect on the community.
“Mumbles as a community is very very tight. Hopefully this will make people realise that we don’t need to go into the big shops in town.
“From a personal point of view with hairdressing I think people will want to come and get their hair cut.
“With coffee shops and restaurants, people will be cautious but I think they will want to get back out there.
“There aren’t many empty shops any more so I would like to think that after lockdown people will come back,” she said.
Gin and Juice was due to open its new bar Oyster Wharf on June 1.
The drinks bar, which also has branches in Cardiff, Bristol and Cheltenham, was formerly occupied by La Parrilla.
The Mumbles premises will feature
Coffee Barker on the ground floor, Rum and Fizz on the mezzanine level, and Gin and Juice on the top.
However, things have not quite gone to plan.
“When this first broke we respected all the details that came through from the Government. As it became more clear that if you are in the building trade and respecting social distancing then a small team came back. We will be ready, Mumbles has a unique attraction and I think it will bounce back,” Gin and Juice cofounder, Steve Barker, said.
Mr Barker has made it clear that he doesn’t want to open with social distancing.
He added: “What we don’t want to do is open with social distancing, we are not geared to operate on half the capacity.
“How can you manage your staff