Shopkeepers primed for the festive season

Lincoln stores are ready to give Christmas shoppers an extra warm welcome, after picking-up some timely tips from top retail guru Corin Birchall.

About 30 people attended a special workshop led by Mr Birchall who made a return visit to the city to share his knowledge and advice ahead of the busiest trading period of the year.

And business owners and managers said the event – organised in partnership by Lincoln BIG and the City of Lincoln Council – gave them plenty of food for thought.

Lincoln BIG business support officer Richard Baxter said individual businesses were urged to focus on as many ways as possible to drive-up sales over the festive period.

“Corin encouraged traders to think about ways in which they could stand out from the crowd, by taking a creative approach to dressing shop windows, running price promotions and collaborating with other businesses.

“He shared key facts and statistics, which people found really useful. Corin revealed that the average UK family spends £821 over Christmas and £600 of that goes on gifts,” said Richard.

“We felt that everyone who attended was able to take away something useful from Corin’s presentation.”

Jemma Stimpson of The Little Pottery Studio recently moved her business into The Lawn complex in uphill Lincoln.

“It was a really interesting workshop. Corin talked about how important it is for businesses to start preparing for Christmas as early as possible and shared information about the many ways in which businesses could help themselves, including by co-operating with each other for added success,” said Jemma.

After the workshop, Jemma took the opportunity to chat to Lincoln BIG staff about the possibility of getting involved in more city events and about how The Lawn and its grounds were an ideal venue for such activities.

The City of Lincoln Council Principal Small Business Support Officer Ben Lockley said: “We were delighted to partner Lincoln BIG in putting on this free workshop at The Terrace.

“Not only was it obviously helpful for individual businesses, but it fitted in perfectly with one of our key Vision 2020 priorities, which is to drive economic growth in Lincoln.

Lincoln BIG is encouraging businesses which may be interested in future retail-focused events such as this workshop, to let the organisation know, by emailing: CharliWhittaker@lincolnbig.co.uk