Shopping local – use it or lose it
IWhat will your community look like when your local retailer, bar, food supplier, cafe´ or artisan producer closes permanently?
n September last year, I wrote a column about shopping local during and after the Covid pandemic and warned that if we don’t support the many small businesses in our wonderful region we would lose some of them forever. Unfortunately time has proved my comments right.
In the last few weeks we have lost three wonderful Nelson businesses that served their community very well by making, sourcing and selling outstanding products.
First, The General Grocery Store in St Vincent St closed because they just didn’t get enough support to maintain the level of service and outstanding value produce they stocked.
While the closure is a big loss to the local community we are fortunate the same people own Benge & Co so we can still buy many of the products they used to sell at The General Grocery Store.
Then, as reported in the Nelson Mail, the Workshop Brewery and Cafe´ closed. While the owners have chosen to move to Christchurch to brew their tasty beers I am sure they would have stayed in Nelson if we had given them more support.
Just over a week ago Harry’s Fish Shop in the Marble Arch Arcade closed, too. When I had a chat with Harry about the closure, he told me there were several reasons, mainly increasing costs, being a labour-intensive business and just not enough sales to justify staying open.
I have been mulling over what these businesses could have done better, or differently, to stay open and I can’t think of a single thing. They all sourced, made and sold outstanding products and provided exceptional service to their customers. And they will all be missed by loyal customers.
As I said in my column last year: ‘‘The one consistent thing in our lives is our local business community, a community made up of a wide range of businesses, the vast majority of which are small businesses owned by locals, maybe even your neighbour.’’
Since I wrote about buying local last year the war in Ukraine has had a huge impact on the world economy, disrupting oil supplies, grain supplies and transport corridors resulting in overwhelming cost increases in every sector.
If you buy an item that needs to be transported then the cost has gone up significantly. If you are a fisherman then your fuel costs alone have doubled, if you employ staff then your business is significantly paying more, not just because of the increases in the minimum wage and corresponding increases for all staff, but also because of the shortage of suitable, qualified staff and having to pay a lot more for people to do the same job.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe everyone deserves to be paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work but we also need to remember we are a very small economy. In Nelson we don’t have huge numbers of large businesses or government departments where staff are paid very well.
When local businesses have to meet the same wages and salaries being offered in large cities but with a much smaller population to support sales it just means one thing – owners of small businesses often don’t pay themselves, putting staff and creditors ahead, let alone get a return on the investment they have in their business or any sort of compensation for the stress of owning it.
The changes to the Credit Contracts Act have made it much more difficult to borrow money, not just to buy a house but to fund the operation of a business, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that many small businesses rely on overdraft facilities to pay their staff and creditors.
On top of wage, fuel and finance costs, council rates have increased significantly, insurance costs have increased, property value increases have resulted in significantly higher rents and on and on it goes.
It is a never-ending shower of price increases faced by small businesses that, combined, add up to many owners deciding it simply isn’t worth continuing.
While the government is pointing the finger at supermarkets, oil companies and banks I pose this question – do we think their costs haven’t increased, too?
Of course they are all in a position of power, we need their services and we are forced to pay the asking price, so they will survive the current economic crisis that is gripping the world.
And then I ask, how important are small businesses to you? Are you prepared to see many more businesses close their doors because their turnover isn’t increasing to cover rising costs? What will your community look like when your local retailer, bar, food supplier, cafe´ or artisan producer closes permanently?
I know things are financially very tight for most people, there is no escaping the lingering impact of the pandemic and war in Ukraine, but if we don’t support local businesses closures like the three mentioned here will just be the tip of the iceberg.
You can do your bit this Christmas and New Year – simply buy local. Instead of buying a pretty trinket that will sit on a shelf how about a small gift basket of local treats – cheeses, soft drinks, wine, pates, sausages, chips, crackers or another locally made artisan product. Or maybe something from a local retailer. Make it a quality gift.
And the last word goes to my column from last year – the Nelson Tasman region is home to some outstanding food and beverage producers, many of them are absolutely world-class, so make sure you support them whenever you can. It is vital you support every business in your local community, spend your money with locally owned businesses or risk losing more of them.