‘Small business owners are Bristol heroes’

It’s Small Business Saturday on December 2 – originally an American initiative founded as a counterpart to the USA’s Black Friday shopping hell.

UK small businesses have adopted this celebration of shopping small as our retail spaces come under increasing pressure to homogenise.  Is it time that Bristol fought harder to protect our local economy?

Undoubtedly, shopping is continuing to homogenise, and like our cousins across the pond, big tech firms and online retailers are increasingly permeating our advertising space. With this comes a redefining of what shoppers perceive our needs to be.

A new phone, quicker response times for ordering products – with modern culture our expectations of goods and services change to be more about what BIG can offer and less about the value of small.

When I see cars piling up along the M32 to get to Cabot Circus car park, I wonder is Bristol really heading more towards Black Friday culture? Are we that city where shoppers pile in on to each other to claw their way into giant chain stores for discounts?

I actually feel the opposite. In the face of adversity, Bristol is slowly shifting the balance. Here’s why:

Happily, the poor layout of our city centre has kept our chain store destination as a limited unit, and I see more and more independent businesses flowering on the high streets in our neighbourhoods. The places where industry is growing in our city is dominated by Bristol businesses and our own start-ups.

Cargo at Wapping Wharf is made up entirely of independents

Our independent food culture is booming, with local eating places opening all the time, and creative retail is increasingly experimental and diverse.

Take Cargo at Wapping Wharf for example – a wholly independent retailer destination on the harbourside. Or the Bearpit, with unique new businesses making city centre spaces welcoming for everyone.

The Bearpit is of hub for independent traders

Tech is also on the up, but with places like Engine Shed sheltering the small start-ups, these businesses are being formed as creative and independent Bristol businesses, with the culture of doing something good.

Despite the national trend, Bristol small businesses are doing huge amounts to improve our city spaces. I live in Easton, and eight years ago when I moved in, there were no cafes, a few takeaways, and Bristol Sweet Mart had only one shop front.

Now, I believe largely through Sweet Mart’s success and collaborative attitude as a business, St Mark’s road is a thriving local high street that it is fun to visit, with Thali, East Bristol Bakery, Gulzar Fancy Goods and Tenovus all working together.

So, this Small Business Saturday, I want to say thank you to anyone who is running a small business in Bristol this year.

I know that it can be an uphill struggle to make margins work against online monopolies and big advertising. I know that sometimes I buy online, rather than seeking out a local alternative, but I will do better.

To me, you are Bristol heroes and you bring creativity and values to what Bristol is all about.

Anna Bryher works for Bristol Pound, has managed teams and campaigns for NGOs and not-for-profit organisations in the city for a number of years. She previously worked as a policy analyst and co-authored a number of reports about wages in global fashion supply chains.