Festive trade down as shoppers spend less

INDEPENDENT businesses in Henley say they had a mixed trading period in the run up to Christmas.

Many said that footfall remained steady but they found that visitors to their shops were less willing to spend.

Some clothes retailers say they are feeling the effects of a mild winter and reported that much of their winter stock has been left unsold.

Laurence Morris, who owns Laurence Menswear in Duke Street, said: “We have had a good run up to Christmas but, being honest, it hasn’t been as busy as previous years.

“Following the budget and the general state of the economy at the moment, it’s noticeable that people have been a lot more careful with what they are spending.

“Shirts always sell very well but we need the weather to turn colder to sell a few more coats.”

Elie El-Choueiry, who owns Henley Menswear, said sales were down about 20 per cent on last year.

He said: “The mild weather has had a very, very big effect. You can’t sell warm jackets and people won’t even look at knitwear because of the weather. People only buy small items, like shirts and trousers.

“Business wasn’t that great during the festive season. It improved in the two weeks before Christmas but, overall, we were down.

“People are coming into the shop but they don’t want to spend the money that they spent before, that’s what I have noticed. People are very careful with their spending these days.”

Mackenzie Ray, who owns the Valse Collection, a vintage boutique in Reading Road, said that while online sales had been good, the store was losing out on in-person sales.

She said: “We are down 50 per cent on last year. Just no one wants to spend. We had quite a lot of footfall but people did not want to part with their money and you can’t blame them for that.

“I think the budget has had a big impact. When the budget came our sales dropped quite a bit. People who would come in and spend £500 on a handbag before, now they are thinking ‘do I want to spend that?’”

Rachel Hollinrake, who owns Asquiths in Hart Street, said that the teddy bear shop had done well. She said: “It was great, although it’s a bit tricky for me to say as it’s only been my second Christmas running the business. People came in just to see the bears, which is nice.”

Elizabeth Hook, manager of Biggie Best in Duke Street, said people were not shopping “like they used to”.

Ms Hook said that she had found shoppers were more conscious of what they were buying and were being careful with their money.

She said that the shop had moved some items such as lamps and furniture off its online store to try and encourage people to come inside the store to feel and see the pieces in person.

Lorraine Hillier, who runs the Hot Gossip coffee shop in Reading Road, said takings had dropped by about 25 per cent on last year.

She said: “I thought it was a quieter Christmas than usual, noticeably I would say. I think these are difficult times for people. I don’t know, it just seemed a bit down.

“I think it is mainly people tightening their belts. There’s not great news around so I think people have felt a bit jaded this year but that’s only my interpretation.”

But Matt Stone, owner of Gorvett & Stone chocolatiers in Duke Street, said that the shop had benefited from Christmas Eve falling on a Tuesday rather than on a weekend like last year, allowing for a few extra days to cater to last-minute shoppers.

He said: “It was really, really busy so we are really pleased. The last four days before Christmas are crucial for us and they were extremely busy, busier than last year.”

Beth Gilham, who owns Amber Galleries in Market Place, said that the gallery had benefited from extra footfall during the Christmas Festival and lights switch-on at the end of November.

Ms Gilham said: “We did really well this Christmas. The footfall was great and the highlight was probably the Christmas light switch-on. We found that a lot of people who would usually go to London to shop came out during the switch on and that’s where we noticed a big difference. We opened late and we had lots of visitors.”

Pubs reported a boost in sales, with many benefiting from Christmas parties.

Graham Seward, who runs the Bird in Hand in Greys Road, said: “We weren’t open on Christmas day but other than that we had a great time. We are usually a bit busier around Christmas.

“It has been quite a good year, that has ticked along quite nicely — no grumbles and no complaint from me.”

Grace Jones, who took over the Three Horseshoes pub in Reading Road with her husband Mike in November, said that the couple’s first month of trading had been really successful.

She said: “We did really well. I think people are always nosy and they want to have a look and see what we have done with it but fingers crossed we continue like this. We opened on Christmas Day, all the locals came down and it was a really nice celebration.”