Forum Topic

So sad another good  business leaves the high street

It’s sad to see The  Sampler  close their wine shop next to the station after only a year. As a local business owner this very worrying. I hope everyone make a New Years resolution to shop locally a little more often.....

Deepak Kapoor ● 2510d17 Comments

Oh that's sad and not just because I have about £6 left on my card.It was a concept that didn't work for me (obviously I tried it a few times). The staff were great and location excellent but a credit card for wine?

Simon Knight ● 2510d

Deepak, I agree we should shop locally, although I had not needed to visit that shop.  Hopefully, Boris will carry out his pledge to lower business rates to make life easier for small business owners, if only greedy landlords weren't allowed to charge so much rent!

Bunny Payne ● 2510d

The Samplers concept of using the card system is a very clever method of serving wine by the glass in perfect condition eg the Enomatic dispenser ensured a glass of wine was served to the customer in its best condition even though it may have been opened weeks before, unlike many restaurants and pubs who serve awful wines by the glass. Remember you could also just pop in for a bottle of wine to take home too. It’s a concept that’s worked very well in other areas so am surprised it didn’t work here. Yes, i agree the reduction in business  rates will help but i fear it’s too little too late now for a lot of small businesses...

Deepak Kapoor ● 2509d

Simon,Sounds like a prepayment rather than a credit card. Great for the supplier but not good for the consumer as your experience demonstrates. Perhaps contact the administrator? Probably won't get your money but although it's only £6 if enough people do it the finance industry might avoid this type of payment that puts the risk on the consumer?Deepak,I agree this wine system is good for keeping and serving good quality wine. However, there's no reason why they can't be connected to a normal cashless or credit card payment system, and I'm sure I've had a fall of wine from one where I've paid cash and the bar staff have just pushed a button?As Simon says, it's not just about good quality product it's meeting the consumer requirements for how they want to transact business... I  agree it's worrying the number of businesses closing in the High Street ☹

Michael Ixer ● 2509d

"I  agree it's worrying the number of businesses closing in the High Street ?"Clever chappies working on 3D printing glasses of vino reddo at your desktop yet?

David Ainsworth ● 2509d

Deepak the young lady who used to have the arch used to be flowers had a rise in rent from approx £26000, to about 47000. Sam had been there years. A lot of people new her. So why should we be worried about wine.

Barbara Stevens ● 2509d

Barbera , I’m not saying you should only be worried about wine shops - we should ALL be worried about our small local shops  in general and support them more often.

Deepak Kapoor ● 2508d

Why? If a small shop can't compete it can't compete. It's survival of the fittest surely?

Simon Knight ● 2508d

That's a little harsh!  I agree with Deepak - it will help a little it if we all try to buy locally rather than online or elsewhere. It's good to have local shops, whether they sell wine, flowers, or anything else. Keeps the High Street alive and people earning a living.

Judy Allen ● 2508d

It is sad to see the Sampler close as there was a small community of people who regularly socialized there while trying some interesting wines! Much better to taste a glass before buying a whole bottle if it was something you didn't know.  It was nice to have something a bit different open on the high street.  If you do have credit left on your card, they have a shop in Wimbledon where you can use it.

Heather Smilgys ● 2508d

If it came across as harsh then I'm sorry but it is reality.I agree we should try and shop locally and try to keep a High Street worthy of the name. But I don't go along with the mantra "support small shops". Again, Why? I feel just as sorry for M&S people, BHS people, Top Shop people, Halford people (the list goes on) who lost their jobs when said companies pulled out of PHS. So why are "small shops" a special case? One would like to think that all shops do a bit of research prior to signing a lease and opening ie: weighing up the competition/their prices/consumer appetite etc. And it's no good blaming "greedy landlords" (they are) or high business rates as these costs should have been factored in.Again, if you can't compete with your peers then you go out of business.Fact is we should be supporting all our High Street shops big or small.

Simon Knight ● 2508d

I am sure no one is disputing the fact that it is always sad when any business goes bust. Especially for the hard working staff. As I mentioned I am a local business  owner here in Putney  (for over 25 years). We do not have the large marketing budgets of bigger companies so do rely heavily on locals to spread the word & spend their money with us and keep us and our staff ( (most of which live local) employed. Did you know that research shows every £1 spent in a local small to medium sized business, 63p stays in the community compared with 40p in a large company? Also without small businesses our high street (& surrounding roads) would change. Do we all want a our shopping areas to be made up of only the big names? Think how boring that would be. A small business is also usually run by someone who is 100% passionate about what they do. They offer diverse business - think Putney Bakehouse or all our wonderful indie Restaurants in Putney. Also we all will  be supporting British Entrepreneurs. Last point: my small business paid over £80k in taxes last year. I’m very proud of that. I’m not sure a lot of the larger companies pay their fair share....

Deepak Kapoor ● 2508d

I agree with you Simon - while I'm happy to support independent local stores I miss the larger ones  just as much.  Our choice  is  much more limited now.

Lucille Grant ● 2508d

Deepak, agreed; a couple of good points. The profits from large multiple outlets, if they're a quoted company or owned by private equity funds could go anywhere in the world as dividends, and they're more likely to use tax reduction techniques with that tax again being paid, at least in part, somewhere other than the UK.

Michael Ixer ● 2508d

Hello Deepak, I have often wondered if it would be better to lower business rates and increase corporation tax or have a lower vat rate for shop sold goods so they can compete with e-commerce. As a business owner, do you have any ideas for helping high street shops, especially small businesses? thx.

Adam Tripp ● 2508d

Hi Adam, Most food is zero-rated but food sold in pubs and restaurants has to include a VAT charge of 20%. There is an argument that this is unfair, and VAT should be cut for Hospitalty as it is in most European countries including Ireland. We have seen a number of very high profile restaurants  struggle according to trade website Big Hospitality  eg. Jamie Oliver , Giraffe, Pizza Express (with a £55 million loss last year). Also a number of high profile Michelin starred chefs have said London restaurants are unsustainable and are looking elsewhere in the Uk to expand.As far as retail is concerned of course independent shops have to be innovative and move with the times but a reduced rate in VAT/Rates (maybe a temporary one) would definitely help heal the current crisis. Also Landlords must be realistic with rents. Shops which are vacant could be let out temporarily to a group of sole traders or start ups, sharing costs and customers to keep the high street alive and kicking rather than empty shops. Recently I was involved in organising the Upper Richmond Road Christmas Fair which bought a lot of trade to our street. More events like this also help bring people to the area. We need ideas flowing.....I will be organising an informal get together for people who care about Putney  to discuss topics raised on PutneySw15.com in February- those interested in sharing a glass of wine (or 2)  whilst meeting new friends  please email : kapoordee@aol.com

Deepak Kapoor ● 2507d

Sounds a great initiative. i heard that some other areas offer things like one month rentals allowing pop ups so that new businesses to get a local presence. Would also help with the empty shops and change atmosphere of decline. Would something like that work in Putney?

Ruth Pates ● 2507d