Retailers reeling from rising business costs

One month into the latest raft of tax hikes, businesses have been assessing the impact and counting the cost of these additional financial burdens.

Some Northern Ireland retailers have been left with significant pressures on their finances, as they deal with the unprecedented rise in wage bills.

Indeed, one County Down retailer said the wage increase represents an additional six-figure sum annually, while another NI retailer said their wage bill increased by almost 6%.

One month into the latest raft of tax hikes, businesses have been assessing the impact and counting the cost of these additional financial burdens.

In the May issue, NR spoke to a number of business owners across the region, as they outline what impact the rises will have on their growth plans while simultaneously attempting to reassure staff their jobs are safe.

Striking this balance has been challenging, with many business owners left scrambling for answers and ways to mitigate the impact. Robert Bell, Managing Director at SD Bell & Co described the Autumn Budget as a budget for shrinkage rather than growth, with businesses left looking internally and adapting how they do business and improve efficiency in-house where possible.

Owner of the Milestone in Rathfriland, Tom McAvoy told NR the increase in wage rates has had a substantial impact on their cost base, while also halting planned developments.

“While we fully support the principle of fair pay for employees, the scale and pace of the increase presented immediate financial and operational challenges,” said Tom.

“Our primary concern was how to absorb the additional costs without compromising service delivery, reducing staff hours, or passing on unsustainable price increases to customers.”

Meanwhile, MD of Kearney’s in Randalstown, Oonagh Heatley said that while anticipating the minimum wage increase, they were not expecting the National Insurance rises, which have subsequently put added expenses onto their business.

“We were worried about the affect this increase would have on our business from a knock-on effect from other businesses, as well as the fact that the increase does not leave people with any more disposable income due to the increase in the cost of living,” Oonagh told NR.

“Our wage bill increased by 5.9%, which was quite an increase, but we had a good few stall that were under the threshold which now met it. We are hopeful that we could increase or even maintain turnover and that we would keep our employees.

“Profit margin may take a little hit for now, but hopefully a growth in turnover would help this.”

READ THE FULL FEATURE IN THE MAY ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE