I can see Lisa in the gym taking part in an online keep fit meeting. The dogs are out running around the field with the cats. A wood pigeon has just called out from a birch tree – another sound and indicator of Spring. We have two family birthdays today and I will not be able to see my handicapped older sister who reaches retirement age today or my nephew, who aged 29 today came home from China as a precaution and is now no longer able to get back there and work in his job with the British Council. Brits will not be finding it easy to get back to China and work any time soon as Europe is now the problem. Today we will be mostly targetting our customers from 2015 and those that ordered seashells from us actually that long ago. It’s good to be in touch! We are offering them the 20% discount code on the front page of our website and this is of course eligible to anyone reading our blog. The weather is great all over the UK, please all catch a few rays from a balcony, window or garden if you can!
Things moving at a rapid pace. We took a delivery from DPD today to be told by the driver that they may close in a week as all businesses are temporarily closing and there is not enough work. This is true of some of our importers/wholesalers who are closing down their warehouses due to lack of orders. Those wholesalers that have online retail businesses themselves strangely have not closed the retail side of their operations which certainly is a kick in the teeth for their retail customers who have been loyal and supportive to them. We are pleased to say that we enter this period with very high stock levels and should comfortably get through the next three weeks of lockdown. The Chancellor has today offered grants to the self employed. Most retail shop owners trade as limited companies so it looks as though the business rates concessions and grants depending on rateable values will be the only help we will get. Whilst it is generous we feel it will still lead to many more seasonal retail businesses closing shop after the Summer. Easter is a crucial trading period after the long Winter and all will be closed. It will be extremely difficult for these businesses to have turned a profit by the end of the Summer holidays and they won’t hang around and choose to go in to debt through the long Winter. Here’s a picture of one of our 2020 top sellers that we have plenty of to dispatch!
While we continue to trade online we took the decision to temporarily close our bricks and mortar shop on Poole Quay yesterday evening. The shop has been open for 20 years now and we have probably never taken a day off from March 1st to September 30th in these 2 decades. It will mean we have more time to work on our online retail sites but this will also be an opportunity to blog a little about Dorset Gifts and let our customers in to our lives a little more – something we have never really had time to do. It’s 730am on Monday 23 March, the sun is shining, and I’m off for my last game of tennis with Spike no doubt for a while. Keep safe customers…..
