As the retail industry labours under the restrictions of a second lockdown, some are adopting a beggar-thy-neighbour attitude that is in the interests of nobody.
It’s understandably frustrating for retailers imperiously deemed ‘non-essential’ to see others still trading from open stores, but attempting to limit the operations of so-called essential shops will not relieve any of the pressure on the worst affected.
The sight of grocers and other big retailers such as Marks & Spencer having to close off floorspace showed only the contradictions of the measures in place.
It’s not just food retailers that are being targeted. Carpetright and Ryman are among those to have attracted the anger of independent retailers who argue that they are selling non-essential goods. Indie retail association Bira went public with its criticism at the weekend.
“Criticism of some retailers by others has become a characteristic of the Covid outbreak, first rearing its ugly head in arguments that the supermarkets should not benefit from the rates holiday”
Rather than throwing a spanner in the works of businesses that can trade, efforts would be better spent highlighting that shops are generally safe places as the pandemic continues. The argument for them to remain open across the board must be made all the more forcefully given the possibility, perhaps the likelihood, of an extended lockdown or more lockdowns to come.
Criticism of some retailers by others has become a characteristic of the Covid outbreak, first rearing its ugly head in arguments that the supermarket giants should not have benefited from the business rates holiday.
It was an argument riddled with inconsistencies, which may end up harming not the intended targets but all retailers. However, it is still being made.
If grocers had not had access to the rates scheme, it would not necessarily have meant a penny more for other retailers. Most importantly, though, sniping about the fact that they did, on the spurious grounds that they had ‘done alright’ through the spring lockdown, undermines the fundamental argument about the broken rates system.
That argument is based on the fact that the present system is not fit for purpose and fundamental reform is necessary – not that the system should be changed only to help out struggling businesses.
If the interests of anybody who has ‘done alright’ are excluded from the benefits of reform doesn’t that rule out just about any retailer that makes a profit?
“The wasted energy of the rates argument and others happening now about essential and non-essential retail are crystallised in one word: Amazon”
It’s an incoherent argument but one that the government, anxious not to lose such a rich tax bounty, could use against the whole retail industry in future, simply by repeating back points made by some retailers now.
The wasted energy of the rates argument and others happening now about essential and non-essential retail are crystallised in one word and one business: Amazon. As stores are closed in full or in part, the juggernaut hurtles on.
Amid the debate about shops, online continues to grow apace. Partly, of course, because at present there is no other option, but also because many consumers now prefer to buy online and avoid busy places as much as they can.
Just about every retailer competes online as well as in store, and surely building a profitable ecommerce business should take greater priority than spatting over restrictions on bricks-and-mortar operations.
Click and collect offers greater opportunity too during this lockdown than it did in the last, allowing more effective competition.
Such options are open to retailers big and small, publicly quoted or independent. In fact, many indies have come into their own online in the last months and weeks, rapidly adding services or creating compelling content on social media such as Instagram in order to drive trade.
One of the retail industry’s defining characteristics is the intensity of competition, red in tooth and claw. But squabbling like cats in a bag over which retailers should be allowed to do what is a waste of energy.
Now, more than ever, the industry needs to be heard on the big issues that are shaping its future. Issues such as the need for mass store closures at all, confusing official guidance and the unfair, punitive burden of business rates. And to be heard, retail must speak with one voice.
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