Williams of Audlem in Audlem, Cheshire, is a family owned, independent retailer that first opened its doors in 1862. Evolving from a draper’s store to sell gifts, stationery and greeting cards, the shop also sells newspapers and magazines, as well as a selection of basic hardware.
Owner Judy Evans tells GiftsandHome.net how the company is adapting in the lockdown, what she’s doing for the NHS and key workers and her thoughts on business life after covid-19.
What lessons you have learned over the past four weeks?
“Life can be fragile and things can change literally overnight. Some things in life you can prepare for and others simply not. However, you can give your business its best chance by always keeping tight control of your budget and, if the worst does happen, focusing on what you can do, rather than on what you can’t.”
What’s a typical day like for you now, and how are you keeping up morale?
“A typical day is busy mornings but very quiet afternoons. This has given me more scope in the quiet times to surf the net for new suppliers, engage in social media and also, to indulge myself in checking out industry news and comment on social media, and by reading trade digital newsletters and trade magazines.
“It’s also given me more time to do book work, forward planning, cleaning out the dark corners of the stock room, revamping displays and many of those little jobs I’ve been successfully putting off for longer than I’d care to admit. I’m keeping up my morale by drinking plenty of tea!”
How are you and the business adapting?
“We have tried to keep our staff in their regular working patterns, and were lucky enough to give them immediate reassurance that we were carrying as normal, which hopefully gave them a sense of stability in the rapidly changing world around us. We had to make some quick modifications to our store and introduce some new signage, literally overnight. We also provided our staff with the necessary PPE, to include our paperboys and girls.
“We have had to react to customer demands on an almost daily basis – especially in the first couple of weeks of the lockdown. At first it was grocery basics and cleaning products which were flying out, but now there is more demand for stationery items, confectionery, board games and jigsaws, DIY basics, and perhaps, most surprisingly, bird food!
“There has also been a steady demand for greetings cards as people have a new appreciation and value in keeping in touch – plus many special occasions – birthdays, anniversaries etc – are still happening!
“While Mother’s Day was a lack lustre affair, since it coincided with the beginning of the lockdown, Easter, on the other hand, was quite buoyant, as people were clearly already missing friends and relatives by that stage.
“As for the gift side of the business, in the first couple of weeks there was a lot of customer confusion. For example, customers were questioning if they were ‘allowed’ to buy gifts. This resulted in a huge dip in gift sales, but also, because people were generally more focused on getting basic supplies. However, we have noticed that more recently, gift sales have started to improve steadily, in part due to people experiencing problems getting timely deliveries with many of the online sources.
“This week we even placed a couple of new gift orders, and also a large greetings card order. We also managed to obtain some special ‘lockdown’ themed birthday and sentiment cards from Laura Sherratt Designs & Perra Designs. Although mindful of the seriousness of the situation, these cards have at least raised a much needed smile among our customers, as well as appealing to those wanting to send a more relevant ‘of the moment’ card.
Are you doing anything to support the NHS and other key care workers?
“Yes, we’ve put up a rainbow banner. We badly wanted to show our appreciation to all our local NHS and care workers in our area, who have all been doing a tremendous job. We are still keeping to our regular opening hours, which means we start every day at 05.45am and finish at 5.30pm. This is to ensure key workers can still have access to our side lines in grocery basics, UPS access point, and winter fuel and hardware – especially as our local convenience store has now cut its hours of trading, in response to the crisis.We have also been delivering to the elderly and the vulnerable in the village.”
Do you have any words of wisdom re getting through the crisis and coming out the other side?
“If you can’t currently trade, then use this time to re-assess your business using some basic economic analysis: identify your threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths to help you make constructive business plans for going forward. Then begin the more difficult process of putting them into action, even if you just start the process by picking up the phone to make that first phone call. Keep your support networks going within the industry, ie with your suppliers, your customers, trade organisations, and with your fellow high street traders. We’re in this together, and we all need to support each other during this difficult and challenging time.”
Top: A rainbow banner outside Williams of Audlem is paying tribute to the NHS and key workers.
