Communication is vital amongst our members
Being an independent retailer can be an isolating job, however communicating with fellow business owners and sharing concerns and ideas is so important, as Fed NI President Julie Brown tells NR.
Marking her 49th year in business this year, Julie Brown has also added the title of Northern Ireland President of the Fed to her résumé.
One of the oldest and longest running trade associations in the UK, the Fed (formally known as the National Federation of Retail Newsagents) has been supporting members for over 100 years.
With approximately 9,500 members and with around 450 of those in Northern Ireland, Fed NI President Julie Brown knows the organisation has an important role to play in supporting its members.
Installed in February 2024, this is Julie’s first time as Fed NI President, taking over from Judith Mercer and Joe Archibald, who she describes as being “a hard act to follow”, but she affirms her commitment to giving “100% for our membership base”.
Owner of Livingstone’s Newsagents in Comber with her brother Jim Livingstone, Julie is only too aware of the challenges facing independent retailers and the importance of having a voice at the table.
“In these difficult trading times, it is vital that our voice is heard. The cost of doing business was well reported and documented with the Department of Finance and other key stakeholders,” said Julie.
“Crime is at an epidemic level and the Fed had the Safe, Secure & Supported campaign in the UK which is ongoing and has been recognised by all national and regional press, including BBC, Sky TV and other local stations.
“Members and their teams should feel safe whilst at work and they should not suffer verbal and physical abuse. The member stores are in the heart of our communities and ultimately the customer will suffer as more and more local stores close for good. We liaise with all relevant stakeholders both here, in GB and Ireland to ensure there is a united message.”
Facing the ongoing challenges of running a business, independent retailers are continuously juggling insurance, energy and operational costs, while the cost to employ also keeps rising, thanks to the increases in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.
“There is only so much a consumer will pay for their groceries,” said Julie. “Therefore, margins are squeezed and the retailers must adapt to remain viable.
“We in our business, which is a typical CTN, have had to diversify and adapt over the years to compete by bringing in extra services for the consumer, such as parcel return and collection, banking services, personalised gifting solutions and are constantly looking at trends and initiatives to make the customers’ life easier.”
Another concern is of course crime, with the number of thefts, break-ins and general abuse at a serious level. Based in Comber, Julie said she has been “lucky” not to experience the levels of crime seen in Belfast and the major towns and cities, but nonetheless has experienced incidents such as shoplifting.
Julie previously told NR she has had some incidences of shoplifting, mainly by children due to peer pressure but the parents later come to the shop and pay and apologise. And while her staff are trained in how to handle some incidents, Julie added that she wouldn’t want them tackling or confronting a shoplifter.
“Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSP) are vital in the local council areas,” said Julie.
“We encourage our members to become actively involved as communication is key. We need to share experiences and learn from and support each other. We tend to work in isolation in our own business, just getting through the day, but we need to become actively involved in the community.
“I personally have had very little contact with my local PCSP, but we are encouraging retailers or a Federation representative to apply and be our voice at this level. Retailers are very busy and not all have the time to attend meetings and take on extra workload, that is why we are encouraging Federation representatives to apply at the next recruitment process.”
Amidst a tough financial climate, businesses are having to diversify and find more ways to stay profitable or even remain open, Julie said it was crucial for independent retailers to communicate and lean on each other for support.
“We have Zoom meetings and an active WhatsApp group, where we share ideas and initiatives to help members adapt and innovate,” said Julie.
“We are lucky our trade organisation represents retailers across GB, Ireland and here so we find we can pick up a lot from our existing membership base. We have a retailer in Scotland with four CTNs and we gained lots of information from him on how he diversified, and he shared his supplier base with us and that has helped us grow and increase our margins.
“Our businesses are so diverse, and we have excellent retailers in our membership where we can learn from each other.
“My Welsh counterpart started monthly online sessions for an hour at a time covering topics including how to drive sales and increase margins, maximise profitability at Christmas, get the sales and margins from summer events and the power of social media. These sessions provide handy tips and solutions and have industry experts and suppliers giving their advice as well.
“We encourage our members to do a spot check on their businesses monthly to identify category movement, display management, review trends linked with their monthly accounts and profitability. This enables their businesses to remain fresh and interesting to the consumer. We are also encouraging our membership base to communicate with their consumers via their social media platforms,” added Julie.
Looking to the future, Julie and her brother, Jim are looking forward to marking 50 years in business next year, with celebrations in the planning to mark the occasion.
“We have a wonderful team consisting of two full-time and two part-time staff,” she said.
Although downtime is in short supply, Julie makes sure she finds some time to enjoy her hobbies, as well as spending precious time with family.
“In my spare time I spend time with the children and grandchildren. I love the outdoors, walking, gardening, socialising and catching up with friends when I get the time – which is in limited supply when you are an independent operator.”
TO READ THE FULL JULIE BROWN INTERVIEW IN THE JUNE-JULY ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE
