Independent retail sector facing crisis similar to restaurants

Thank you, Anita Chaudhuri, for writing about a crisis that is unfolding before our eyes and urgently needs the government’s attention (The British food scene was booming. Why has it suddenly gone bust?, 9 June).

Your article about restaurants struggling to stay afloat resonated deeply with me because it mirrors what is happening in the independent retail sector, alongside the pressures facing food and hospitality businesses. I have run Tatty Devine for 27 years and like to think of us as the Michelin-star equivalent of retail: specialists in our field, delivering quality, creativity and consistency in design. Yet we too have hit a wall.

The impact of rising minimum wages, increased national insurance contributions and higher business rates, alongside soaring material costs and a decline in customers’ disposable income, has created a perfect storm. Running a small business has become increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

Niche independent businesses feel these pressures far more acutely than mainstream operators. As the chef Richard Wilkins says in your article, “it’s the smallest people who are hit the hardest”.

Under the current tax system, traditional business models are no longer viable. Many businesses are now on the brink of disappearing unless they radically adapt. AI may help businesses evolve, but I am not convinced that our sector – or the small businesses that collectively employ nearly half the nation’s workforce – is yet prepared to use it at the scale required to prevent a domino effect of closures.

If we value independent businesses for the creativity, expertise and character they bring to our towns and cities – and our economy – then we need urgent action before it is too late.

Rosie Wolfenden

Managing director, Tatty Devine

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