Sarah Ward, ceo of The Giftware Association was once again invited to attend a Bank of England Genesis meeting, to discuss the threats and opportunities to SMEs in today social and political environment.
Prior to the meeting, The Giftware Association sent out a survey to its members to collate their views. The general snapshot of the companies who participated was that there was a very real fear of how Brexit will affect them and their businesses.
The results painted a picture of an industry that is worried about the future, with ‘confidence being significantly lower than the previous six months’, by a massive 71%, and a similar result in ‘lower expected business growth’ at 54% than in the previous six months.
As a direct correlation to Brexit, 52% of members surveyed expected the export environment to stay flat, probably while in the transition stage, where the government and the EU will hopefully be working towards a shared goal.
The one opinion that was shared by the majority is that the cost of exporting and business will rise, and the smaller the company the more they will suffer.
With SMEs regarded as the backbone of industry in the UK, discussions at the meeting significantly focused on Brexit and what will happen afterwards. and how an SME can prepare.
“It’s an incredibly proud moment when you get to stand up in front of a committee to present The Giftware Associations members views,” commented Sarah. “It’s sometimes the only chance that these government initiates get to touch upon real data and opinions from the UK’s many SMEs. They learn a huge amount from what we present, and it also gives me an opportunity to also learn what is happening in other industries that can affect the giftware world. ”
To request a copy of the GA’s survey, visit www.ga-uk.org
Top: The Bank of England was the venue for last week’s Genesis meeting.
