Battles faced by modern day businesses

We speak to businesses in the town, to find out what challenges they face in modern-day.

Transcript

00:00If we don't support the high street, the high street will all die, and then there will be no high street left.

00:06The ease of shopping on smartphones, tablets, all the rest of it, makes life very easy to shop.

00:12Whereas, when I was a younger man, you had to go to the shops. You couldn't buy anything.

00:16If you didn't go and look at it, you couldn't buy it.

00:18We're all a victim of everybody responsible for the high street not surviving.

00:23The problem is, unless we all make a choice to go and get it, you then can't sit at home and say,

00:29because if we're not going to support it, why are people going to go to work?

00:32We've all got a little bit of ownership in this, and it's how we work without saying,

00:37because high street needs support to survive.

00:40And that can't all come from local government, local money, because where's that going to go for other things to do?

00:45I think, obviously, the internet's obviously changed the high street now from what it used to be.

00:51When I started, there was no online shopping.

00:53So that's definitely changed in the 30 years I've been doing retail.

00:57But I think in today's retail world, I think you have to be online.

01:02Spalding's changed as a town. A lot of the big brands have disappeared.

01:06We've definitely seen a change in the customer coming into town,

01:10and you haven't got that competition anymore, which is a shame.

01:13It's not nice walking through Spalding now. It's a little bit depressing, I think,

01:18because there's so many empty units.

01:21We do need more independent shops with a variety of different items and things to sell.

01:28That would enhance it.

01:30If you're looking to start a business on the high street, it is quite challenging.

01:36It's a big step.

01:38It's certainly the case that in Spalding and lots of other towns around the country,

01:43businesses on those high streets are facing challenges,

01:47not just from online, of course, but also from out of town.

01:50I think it's easy to moan about what you've got,

01:53and everywhere always wants to be more like somewhere else.

01:56I've made the point before that actually the way to make Spalding better

02:03is to be more distinctive and to celebrate all those things that make it unique and quirky and attractive.

02:11I think we need a bit more balance in the way that we talk about our high streets

02:16and a bit more appreciation and thanks for those people who are working hard to try and do something worthwhile for us.