A dear journalist friend recently asked me would I like to write a little something about supporting local businesses – and with Black Friday just around the corner, it seemed like an ideal time. This is what I wrote.
As an independent business owner, shopping locally is important to me. I moved my store April and the Bear recently to Rathmines and there is proper sense of community in the area which is so refreshing. It’s clear that people that live here make a real effort to support local shops and restaurants, Ernesto’s Cafe is a favourite for locals in the know and everyone knows that Manifesto’s has the absolute BEST pizza.
And with our store, we’ve noticed that customers are consciously shopping with us. They know that they are going to be buying gifts this Christmas and are making an effort to spend some of that gift revenue with us, which is a really encouraging trend to see. I would never expect people to shop exclusively with Irish independents but every little helps. A survey conducted by Paypal last year saw that Irish consumers spent 2.7 billion online with internationally owed websites, this year those figures will be even higher. Spending locally, even in a small way, will help keep local business alive and help keep the Irish retail environment vibrant and interesting. This Christmas I’ll be supporting my favourite independent stores + businesses; April and the Bear, Scout, The Gutter Bookshop, Momuse, Moons Yoga, Bow + Pearl, Loulerie, Farmyard Baby, Indigo + Cloth and Appassionata. Those are only a handful of the fantastic businesses on our Emerald Isle – there are so many others, some I know and some I don’t know and I would urge you to seek them out and support them if you like what they do. I never want to come across as preachy when it comes to spending, after all it’s your money, you do what you like with it – it’s your right. BUT if you want a varied and interesting Irish shopping scene consider the shops around you, be they physical or online, because without your support they won’t last.
We never participate in the Black Friday madness usually, and had no intention of doing so this year either. However, since growing our stock selection this year, one of our lovely furniture suppliers Zuiver, have offered us a discount this weekend so obviously we are going to pass this onto our customer. For a closer look at what is discounted go here on BLACK FRIDAY.
So yes we are KIND OF getting involved in the Black Friday malarkey but I don’t love that we are.
S x
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