Bira backs new campaign to boost independents

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) is backing the new campaign aimed at reminding customers that independents need them now more than ever.

Indie fashionwear group Boutiques in Business launched the 'Buy Unique, Shop Boutique ' campaign last week ahead of the reopening of 'non-essential' retail in England on April 12.

It is hoped the Buy Unique, Shop Boutique campaign will act as a reminder that small businesses, stifled for so long, will need all the support they can get to take back their position on the high street.

Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre (pictured) said: "We fully support this campaign, indies need the support of customers now more than ever. The fashion sector has been particularly hard-hit during the pandemic and so this campaign could not be more timely."

Amanda Slattery, owner of Maya Maya in Kendal, Cumbria, and founder of Boutiques in Business, explained the events that led up to the launch of the campaign:

"During lockdown we all felt helpless while our considered, crafted and well-designed products, often from small independent brands hung on shelves untouched, whilst mass produced garments were flaunted in supermarkets and garden centres, even if people were just popping in for milk, the option for some retail therapy was clearly available to them.

“Our disappointment has continued as the essential/non-essential debate has not been addressed. However, as we come towards the end of lockdown, we hope to remind people of this unfairness and to ask them to help 'put us back on the map! ”

Boutiques and Business were also behind the successful reverse mannequin campaign, which signified the Government having turned its' back on independent retail.