I have just come back from the annual conference for farm shops run by FARMA. In my opinion, it is one of the best get-togethers of independent retailers during the year. That’s why I always go, not only to spend some time with some of our top customers, but also to learn more about our favourite customer group – farm shops.
This year was no exception; one of the main thrusts of the conference was the need to embrace social media. (more…)
All I have heard so far this year is that customers are going to be tightening their belts and being very careful what they spend etc. etc. It seems that the doom-mongers are at work again – they got going early this year before some of us were back at work. They justify their spurious claims by using the VAT increase from 17.5% to 20%. I really can’t see how this is going to make a large difference on our customer’s food spending patterns. Even a large basket of food and drink valued at £100 will only increase by a pound or so as more than half the items will be zero-rated – and on a farm shop average basket of £15 - £20 the difference will be negligible. So let’s start this year the way we did last year by shooting down the negativity in the press. (more…)