Small Business Saturday Chiswick Is Ready To Go

Traders gearing up to encourage shoppers to stay local

Small Business Saturday gets underway in Chiswick this weekend (December 6) for the second year running and local traders have lots of exciting offers on hand to tempt shoppers to stay shopping in their neighbourhood.

There are lots of promotions on offer, from vouchers to discounts, credits and free giveaways in your local shops.

Devonshire Road has lots of independent shops

Mike Moran of Top Hat drycleaning business in Devonshire Road said: "Small Business Saturday is a positive step again this year, hopefully the local community will support the day and then continue that support through the Christmas period. Why wait in for a sad boring brown box to arrive when you can get some fresh air and get some really great advice on the best purchase for you in the best town in the country?"

Local politicians, Mary Macleod and Ruth Cadbury have also come on board to support the idea which was first started in the US.

As the Prime Minister’s Small Business Ambassador for London, Mary Macleod MP is joining forces with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to encourage local residents to do their Christmas shopping locally. Mary commented: “We have some fantastic independent shops and businesses on our High Streets, something that contributes to the unique character of our area. We all need to do our bit to support them so they can continue to grow. I hope you will join me to take the ‘Keep Trade Local London Challenge’ as you do your Christmas shopping this year”.

Ruth Cadbury said:“So many local businesses are doing a fantastic job. They give us greater choice and that something a little bit special as well as employing many local people. We all need to put our hands in our pockets to back our local businesses.  And it’s not just when doing the family shopping, but anyone who makes purchasing decisions for their workplace, should ‘think local’ first. Small businesses often provide better value for money and a more flexible service than the big companies such as for stationery and catering."

Small Business Saturday is an initiative first started in the U.S. to encourage people to support their local small, independent businesses at this time of year. It has the backing of the Prime Minister and all political parties.

Lin with LBH council leader Steve Curran and Cllr Sue Sampson

As well as independent shops in Turnham Green Terrace and Devonshire Road there are several independent businesses further along the High Road past Chiswick Lane. One of the owners of a Chiswick interior furnishing shop revealed why west London was a better bet for their business than trendy Islington. Lin Leung and Tricia Joyce of Decorexi in the High Road said they have not looked back since locating to Chiswick in May 2013 .

Lin said: “West London is a great hub and Chiswick in particular is a fantastic location, near the river with good road and public transport links into and out of London.”

Lin, who was speaking in the run up to Small Business Saturday, said running her own business gives her a sense of freedom.

She said: “It’s great having total autonomy in how we run things from when we open to what jobs we take on.”

ShopChiswick, a social media community initiative has partnered with Brompton Bike Hire and Fuller’s Brewery to highlight Small Business Saturday.

Five teams took part in the Tweet the Streets Challenge which kicked off at the Brompton Bike Hire dock on Turnham Green Terrace yesterday, where the teams were given a number of challenges they needed to complete to win. They made their way around Chiswick visiting local businesses and landmarks throughout the morning.

The cyclists were all local business people and entrepreneurs and the idea was to use their social media and Twitter followers to reach several million people and spread the word about shopping locally.

December 5, 2014