Mike Merelie from Whisk!

A new café at the Knowle West Health Park has proved so successful the owners are looking to open more outlets across the city.

Director Mike Merelie from Whisk! said the café was a really positive example of a public/private partnership and how a business can work successfully within its community.

“By getting the business model right here we believe we have a successful model for operating other cafes and food outlets across Bristol,” he said.

“We’re already planning our next cafe and look set to be even busier than last year with weddings and corporate events. We’ve already employed a local person and are sifting through some applications for an apprenticeship so that we can build a team of people that will help us grow in the future.

“I think it’s a really positive example of a public/private partnership and how a business can work successfully within its community.”

The café and the kitchens were mothballed two years ago following unsuccessful incarnations as a community café and training academy.

Bristol-based Whisk stepped in and, run by chefs Evan Roberts and Mike Merelie, the kitchens provide a hub for the firm’s range of business, conference, private function and wedding catering.

Bristol Business News

Retail sales have had their biggest annual fall in nearly three years as shoppers tightened their purse string after Christmas, according to the latest survey by the CBI.

Its distributive trades survey for January showed the balance for reported sales volumes plunged to -22 – a sharp turnaround on December’s +9.  The downturn was the lowest since March 2009 when the country was in recession. Analysts had forecast a fall to -6.

The survey results came a day after official figures showed the economy contracted by 0.2% in the final three months of last year and highlighted the grim state of the high street. A number of retailers have gone bust since Christmas.

CBI chief economic advisor Ian McCafferty said: “Shoppers have reined in spending across the board at the start of the new year, after taking advantage of early discounting last month, which boosted pre-Christmas sales.

“Consumers are still holding off, particularly from buying big-ticket items, like washing machines and fridges.”

Earlier this month, it emerged last-minute Christmas shoppers gave Bristol’s Cabot Circus retail centre a boost with visitor numbers during the week to Christmas Eve up by almost a fifth (19%) against the same period last year, which was itself a record.

Cabot Circus director Kevin Duffy said the centre overall had enjoyed a good year.

“Throughout 2011, sales have remained strong despite the economic climate – with many retailers seeing increases of around 5%,” he said.

The rise in the number of people using smartphones to check out bargains online while shopping has led Cabot Circus to become the first shopping centre in the South West to offer free wireless broadband.

Retailers have reported that more and more shoppers are using the internet to check and compare prices when they’re in stores, and even ask friends for opinions via social media before they buy something.

The deal with WiFi provider The Cloud, which services Krispy Kreme and Pret a Manger outlets in Bristol, now brings free wireless internet connection to shoppers in the city centre.

Kevin Duffy, Centre Director at Cabot Circus, said: “The decision to provide WiFi at Cabot Circus comes as more and more people us the internet on the go. The WiFi will be available to all throughout Cabot Circus and Quakers Friars, and will allow visitors to use their smartphones, iPads and laptops at broadband speed during their visit.”

The Cloud has more than 6,500 hotspots across the UK. Vince Russell, its managing director, added: “Shoppers are using smartphones and tablets to access very data-heavy content, such as their social media accounts, or video clips and music, when they’re out and about.

“That means they need a fast and reliable internet connection.”

Bristol Business News

Bristolians were the fastest internet shoppers this Christmas, taking on average less than two minutes to make their purchases, new research shows.

Bristol heads a 10-strong ‘fastest finger’ table of UK cities which used data to find out how quickly people bought goods online during December.

The average time taken to browse and buy on websites in Bristol was just 1 minute, 49 seconds – nine seconds faster than people in second-place Sheffield.

Bristolians were more than twice as fast to complete their purchases as online shoppers in Newcastle, Manchester and Birmingham – with those in the Midlands city taking on average just over 5 minutes to buy find the best offers, choose vouchers and seal an online deal.

The figures have been released by money-saving site ILoveCashback.com, the UK’s only site that combines price comparison, voucher codes and cashback.

The site offers price comparison and 10,000 voucher codes for more than 8m products from 1,200 UK stores.

Nearly 9 in 10 UK shoppers have looked at retail websites, spending an average of 84 minutes on them a month – more than any other major country.

A recent Ofcom report comparing the UK with 17 other countries, found 79% of British web users have bought something online, compared to just 27 per cent of Italians.

ILoveCashback has been shortlisted in the Consumer MoneyFacts Awards 2012, best cashback site category.

Tim Davies from Colliers International

Record-breaking online shopping is fuelling increased demand for large storage and distribution units, according to commercial property specialists Colliers International.

Head of the Bristol office Tim Davies said the surge in e-retailing had hit High Street footfall but the flipside was increased demand for out-of-town warehousing units to provide the storage and distribution facilities required by online retailers.

Major retailers are scouring the region for large units capable of supporting the dramatic increase in online shopping, with analysts predicting £7.75bn will be spent online during December alone.

“Dramatically changing shopping habits have resulted in millions of people sitting at home to track down their Christmas gifts online rather than traipsing about the High Street,” said Mr Davies.

“This has had an obvious knock on effect with High Street footfall suffering on the one hand and major retailers trying to track down adequate storage and distribution facilities to support their online operations on the other.

“We are seeing retailers returning to the industrial sector to ensure they have adequate logistical support for the unexpectedly steep surge in online business.”

He said the boom had originally been triggered by food retailers expanding their home delivery services – but had now spread to general retailers.

Online shopping analysts have reported a rise of almost 14% on last year, incorporating an even more dramatic 35% increase in the number of people shopping for presents using mobile platforms.

“Contrary to most reports the public appears to be spending fairly freely, but it is the way they are spending which is changing out of all recognition,” Mr Davies added.

“The whole process is being driven by advances in technology, but however people are buying, retailers still require a good old warehouse to support the increase in business.”

Christmas skating rink at Quakers Friars

Bristol Business News

Bristol shoppers are expected to loosen their purse-strings and spend £702m this Christmas on gifts and partying.

Despite household budgets being squeezed tighter this year, figures from Barclays predict that spending will be up by 4% this December on the same month last year.

In Bristol, shoppers will splash out £428m on their debit cards and withdraw a further £274m from cashpoints and banks to enjoy themselves as the festive season gets under way.

Across the UK a record £46.9bn will be spent – some £17,540 per second, according to Barclays.

The bank’s research shows that consumers will use their debit cards for the bulk of their shopping, with a record £28.6bn expected to be spent on cards this month.

Supermarket tills will be ringing the loudest, accounting for £6bn of festive spending, with £1.5bn predicted to be spent at petrol stations and £849m at department stores.

Online shopping will account for more than a quarter of all debit card spending this December.

Meanwhile cash totaling £18.3bn is expected to be withdrawn from ATMs and banks throughout December.

The busiest day for debit cards spending is predicted to be Friday 23 when Barclays expects more than £1.4bn will be spent. On Christmas Eve ATMs across the country will dispense £774m. The peak time for ATMs is forecast to be between 11am and 12pm – equivalent to £24,890 withdrawn every second.

Barclays director of current accounts Dan Wass said: “It’s been a difficult year for consumers whose household budgets have been squeezed to cope with rising costs. But we are expecting shoppers to shun the doom and gloom and spend record levels as retailers make massive reductions to entice them in.”

Stephanie Lacey at Cabot Circus (Picture: Freia Turland)

Cabot Circus has appointed Stephanie Lacey to the position of Centre Manager, whose role will focus on managing the day-to-day running of the Bristol shopping centre and developing the retail mix.

Ms Lacey, 39, began her career in airport retail before moving into shopping centre management. Having joined Ayr Central (Ayrshire) in 2006, she spent three years as Centre Manager at the Dolphin Centre in Poole before joining Cabot Circus.

As Centre Manager, she will be responsible for overseeing operations at Cabot Circus and will work with city partners such as Destination Bristol and Bristol City Council to grow the city’s reputation as a retail destination. She will also work alongside Centre Director Kevin Duffy to develop the on-going vision and strategy for the centre.

“I am delighted to have joined Cabot Circus as Centre Manager and am enjoying exploring Bristol and seeing what the city has to offer,” Ms Lacey – who originally hails from East Kilbride in Scotland – said.

“Cabot Circus is a fantastic scheme with an enviable mix of retail and leisure that has truly transformed the city centre. I’m looking forward to building on this and ensuring that Bristol maintains its position as the fashion capital of the South West.”

Bristol Business News

Consumer confidence fell to a four-month low in August as the economy continued to struggle, a Nationwide survey showed today.

The building society said it was a relief the drop was not bigger during a month when many UK major cities hit by the worst rioting in decades and global economic uncertainty hit share prices.

As a result the monthly index fell to 48 from July’s already relatively modest reading of 49.

Nationwide economist Robert Gardner told Reuters: “Further signs that the UK economy is struggling to gain momentum, disorder in a number of English cities and renewed turbulence in global financial markets would all have been expected to weigh down heavily on confidence during the month.

“The relative stability is probably a reflection of the already subdued level of confidence, rather than indicating resilience in the household sector.”

The decline in the Nationwide index mirrors a relatively modest fall in the similar GfK NOP survey for August, which also hit a four-month low.

Nationwide forecasts further sluggish growth and subdued consumer sentiment for several months.

Bristol ethical food business Essential Trading will this Friday celebrate its 40th anniversary as a co-operative dedicated to vegetarian, organic, sustainable and ethical trading.

It now has an annual turnover of around £12m and employs around 85 people – making it one of the largest successful worker co-operatives in the UK and a far cry from its early days when it was viewed as operating in a highly niche market.

Essential offers a trade cash-and-carry service from its Fishponds warehouse and delivers across Britain with its own fleet of vehicles. It has a free delivery service, international courier and own label service and can mix and pack to individual requirements. Over the past few years, it has boosted exports to European countries by 15% year on year.

When Essential needed a mortgage for its Fishponds site in the mid 1990s, it came from a Belgian bank as UK lenders considered a co-operative selling wholefoods too risky a venture.

Subsequently, the co-op took on a mortgage with Bristol-based Triodos Bank which recently enabled the company to assemble a solar panel project. This is a new venture and within three years the mortgage itself will be paid off.

All its staff, suppliers and partners stick to strict ethical code of conduct and it chooses not to supply supermarkets, instead focusing on supporting independent health food traders.

A variety of themed activities and promotions will run throughout the year, culminating in a celebration in Bristol in September next year.

Marketing manager Eli Sarre said: “The last 40 years have seen the wholefood market grow exponentially.
Back in the 1970s health food stores were novel and the foods they stocked relatively limited. But now, through education, a distinct rise in vegetarian and vegan diets, growth in free-from diets and the shift towards organic and ethical foods, we have a strong and thriving industry.”

Despite increased competition from supermarkets, Essential continues to supply only the independent health food trade in the belief that this will help retailers retain many unique lines that they know customers cannot find elsewhere.

It now offers more than 6,000 products as a wholesaler including 100-plus of its own Essential branded goods.

Michelle and Andy Beresford, founders of Home Leisure Direct

A Bristol-based company has been shortlisted for a national online retail award for Best Small Online Retailer of the Year.

Homeleisuredirect.com was founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Michelle and Andy Beresford and has now grown to become the UK’s largest Games Room Retailer trading from their converted barn in Elberton with their team of four staff.

Despite 90% of internet businesses failing in their first two years, Home Leisure Direct has achieved, on average, a 91% growth year on year since its launch in 2007.

“We started our business at the worst possible time, just as the recession began,” said Michelle Beresford. “But through lots of hard work, continual reinvestment and giving exceptional service we have now grown to become the largest retailer of games room products in the country.”

Andy Beresford added he was proud the business was now seated alongside some of the largest household names at the award ceremony, such as ASOS and John Lewis.

“To be shortlisted to the final four is an achievement in itself,” he said. “We are so excited to be recognised on a national level such as this.”

The winners of The eCommerce Awards for Excellence will be announced on October 11 at an awards ceremony in London.