By Faye Blakeley, regular columnist
THERE are thousands of column inches speculating about the future of the high street.
Written by experts, many of whom have never owned or managed a retail business, every one of them has an opinion and many predict the ‘death of the high street’ and the triumph of online giants.
But when they talk about the ‘high street’ they’re talking about the big town centres, which have traditionally been propped up by national chains and who are now leaving in their droves.
They’re not talking about the towns that I know and love across the Vale, who have seen an opportunity and are trying to grab it with both hands.
I believe that the future of the ‘high street’ is not about the big boys, it’s about the independents, the small owner-run businesses who by their very nature are flexible, proactive and more attuned to the needs and requirements of their local communities.
They’re not dependent on centralised marketing departments or trend co-ordinators, they know what their customers want because they tell them and more importantly, they listen.
They understand that ‘one-size’ does not suit all, that taste and styles can change location to location and what’s popular on one high street may not be what’s popular on theirs.
Now here’s the exciting bit.
While the experts are only just waking up to the independent revolution, we in the Vale have been at the front of this for years.
We have some of the best independent shopping areas around.
My husband who grew up in the North of England, an area lauded for its community spirit, is still after 20 years amazed by the support and enthusiasm the Vale community have for any new business or initiative – as he says much to their credit, ‘the people of Barry will turn up to the opening of an envelope’.
Maybe that’s why he too is now an independent business owner.
In short, while the think tanks are still consulting, we in the Vale know that the future is bright, the future is independent.
