Use it or Lose it
HIP Business talks to Steve Burton about running a hardware store in the current economic climate. The message is clear: Support your local traders or see them disappear.
The Kings Road Drugstore has been in Kings Road for 20 years, so it straddles two distinct periods in St Leonards history: the bit when the town was rather down at heel and the bit when it suddenly went upmarket. Steve Burton runs the shop with his wife Debbie, and the help of daughter Jodie, and grandchild Amelia.
Steve and Debbie with a range of their goods
He says: “We opened it as a copy of Superdrug; over the years it has evolved into a hardware shop because we found this was what our customers wanted. All product requests are noted, and we source them if there is a good demand.” So, a real local shop.
A quick walk around the shop reveals ‘what customers want’. From tools to toys, from stationery to kitchen products or, as Steve says, “from bin bags to mascara”. It’s all there – and if it isn’t you can ask. He says: “we are part of the community and understand that many people rely on us for their everyday needs. We spend much of our day answering questions and trying to solve different household queries and problems.”
They bought the premises freehold at the start, and paid the mortgage over the next 15 years, so, fortunately, the recent increase in rents hasn’t been a headache for them. Steve feels the shop would work in any town, provided rent and costs were reasonable – which of course is not often the case these days.
The notice says it all
He says that prices only began to rise during the pandemic, when it was also more difficult to source items. But it’s only over the last year that prices have really rocketed, by at least 30%. And it’s not just product prices: “Inflation has led to all our costs such as energy, transport, insurance and accounts increasing by up to 30%”, he says.
Steve describes his customers as a mixture of all sorts, representing a wide demographic, who mainly come from the immediate area where they can access the shop on foot. So far they have stayed loyal, he says, “so we continue to make a small profit.” They understand without their support the shop won’t survive.
“Amazon and other big retailers are slowly killing the small independent shops and businesses such as ourselves,” he says. “When we started up there were three other stores like ours in Kings Road, but now we are the only one.”
Over Christmas, the shop stocks some seasonal products, but mostly, “just sell more of things we sell all year round.” So there’s some opportunity to top up the kitty for the New Year, when he says things will start getting really tight, “with people only buying what they really need”.
Steve feels the government could do a lot more to help small traders, starting with raising taxes for the likes of Amazon, and abolishing corporation tax and VAT for small turnover businesses “to give them a chance to compete.”
But they fully intend to keep going, and with the support of the community they will.
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