On Monday 11 January, Shop Up the High Street is hosting its first Free Small Business Retail Conference at Paignton Enterprise Centre, Bishop’s Place, Paignton from 4:15pm – 7:00pm.
Independent retailers in Torbay can join the evening of networking, workshops and presentations for free. The keynote speaker, Kevin Shaw, has 40 years experience in retail and an understanding of the value of knowing your customer and maintaining sales growth.
As a senior retail manager for Sainsbury’s, Kevin has extensive experience of managing operational, financial and promotional aspects at over 40 stores. His expertise led to him being selected by store managers to be their Regional Sales Champion. While overseeing the regional sales, Kevin was responsible for the opening of 4 new stores in both the South West and Greater London.
Torbay’s Executive Lead for Business, Cllr Richard Haddock, said: “Local retailers can take advantage of the opportunities that this project offers them by sharing their experiences with others and learning from retail experts. Retail is such an important part of Torbay’s economy and I would urge any retailers to get in touch with the team to get their advice and support and benefit from the valuable workshops.”
The Coastal Communities Funded project delivered by TDA is the sister project to Pop Up the High Street which has successfully helped online retailers to experience trading on the high street.
Shop Up the High Street is a support programme for existing independent high street retailers to help them improve business areas such as marketing and footfall across Torbay. Retailers will be offered one to one support and workshops to help them improve their businesses and adapt to the challenges facing the high street.
Liz Edwards, TDA Business Advisor who is hosting the event, said: “We have looked at the areas where we think local independent retailers can really benefit from workshops to support the growth of their business. The sessions look at Social Media, Finance, Web Analytics and Business Planning and will be run by local specialists. Booking for the sessions is essential as we have limited spaces.
“The conference is a fantastic opportunity to gain free advice and information, to unite with other retailers that have similar business goals and share ideas.”
To find out what free support is available locally to you or to book your place, please go to www.shopupthehighstreet.org or email Liz.Edwards@tedcltd.com for further details.
