Everything to do with Shops

[SteveH]

While reading this article it took me a little while to realise who they were, but I then I remembered, and I was one of the first people through their door about 30 years ago, and they also made a birthday cake for me, of a Barbour wax jacket, complete with check lining and brass zip, it was so good,  I put it on display my shop window, unfortunately I left it to long, and it went on the bird table ! !

I am glad to hear of their success and wish them well for the future.....

Llanrwst bakery Siwgr a Sbeis secures listing with Co-op
Owners Rhian Owen and Rhian Williams met at school in the Vale of Clwyd and have turned their shared passion for cooking into an award-winning bakery business

Siwgr a Sbeis have been creating and baking for over 30 years.

The business has expanded its operation but has stayed true to its Llanrwst roots. The bakery is now located in a 5,000sq ft, purpose-built and Salsa approved premises on the edge of town.

The 15 full-time staff make Siwgr a Sbeis’ "mouth-watering" bakes and desserts - many of which have reaped countless national awards, among them the Bara Brith Flapjacks which were awarded a gold star by judges at the Great Taste Awards.

Continually devising new recipes, the bakery has enjoyed several notable highlights over the past three decades. These include supplying Harrods with almond meringue mince pies, sending luxury Christmas puddings to Australia, and creating a cake for a wedding in France.

Keen to use as many Welsh ingredients as possible, the business has forged links with several well-known producers. Among them are Cwt Caws, Halen Môn, Caws Cenarth, South Caernarfon Creameries, Welsh Lady Preserves, Aberfalls Gin, Toffoc, and Llaeth y Llan.

full article  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/conwy/19387256.llanrwst-bakery-siwgr-sbeis-secures-listing-co-op-bara-brith-flapjacks/

[SteveH]

Lidl names seven towns in North Wales where it wants new stores

Across in Conwy they want to build two new stores in in Abergele and Llandudno. Bosses have also secured planning to extend the store in Colwyn Bay.

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/lidl-names-seven-towns-north-20899325?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

THE smells of cheesecake and rhubarb and custard drift across the centre of Llandudno, and you could be forgiven for thinking a new restaurant has opened.

It is however the bath bombs and soaps of Bubble Hut, a new shop on Mostyn Street which is hoped to help bring the town centre back to life after the pandemic.

Darren Langshaw came up with the idea while delivering soap in the area for DPP during lockdown, when he realised there were no shops exclusively offering body care products.

“There has been nothing in the area that offered handmade soaps for quite a while,” he said. “I thought it would be a good idea to do just that and buy local produce.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19409911.queues-street-sign-come-bubble-hut-owner/

[SteveH]

Supermarket chain Morrisons has accepted a £6.3bn ($8.7bn) takeover bid by a US investment group led by the owner of Majestic Wine.

Last month, the supermarket group turned down an offer worth £5.5bn from a different firm, saying it had significantly undervalued the business.

Morrisons chairman, Andrew Higginson, said the new offer was fair, and the chain would "continue to prosper".

The firm has nearly 500 shops and more than 110,000 staff in the UK.

The takeover - led by US private equity group Fortress Investment Group - is subject to shareholder approval but the supermarket group's directors are recommending it is unanimously voted for.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57705253

[SteveH]

Sainsbury’s has announced that from today, customers will be able to buy 60 items cheaper is a bid to rival budget supermarkts like Aldi.

The supermarket giant has said it will invest £50 million into the price of its products in a move which will make dozens of popular items cheaper for shoppers.

Price reductions on 60 core fresh produce, meat and dairy products will kick in from today (Tuesday, July 6).

Price reduced ‘for the foreseeable’
The retailer said that these new reduced prices would remain in place “for the foreseeable”, and that customers can expect to make savings of up to 25 per cent on many items.

cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19422294.sainsburys-shares-major-announcement-aldi-shoppers/

[SteveH]

Aldi has secured the go-ahead to expand its store in Llandudno.

The German discounter had said the existing store on Mostyn Champneys was holding back sales.

Mostyn Chamneys owner - the Hercules Unit Trust(HUT) - was keen to keep them on its retail park and put forward plans to merge the Aldi and Argos units.

Aldi would then take on the merged units for a larger supermarket, with an additional coffee shop  as part of the expanded site.

Now planners on Conwy council have approved the plans to allow the redevelopment to move ahead.

It will also see the former McDonald's demolished after the US fast food giant recently relocated to a two storey site on the shopping park. That land will become part of an extended car park for Aldi.

It is understood Argos will move to a different unit.

HUT had previously planned to build a new restaurant to replace the existing McDonald's but the already under pressure casual dining sector collapsed with the coronavirus pandemic and that plan was abandoned.

The current Aldi store dates back to 1995 and Aldi say the expansion would create an extra 10 roles with shop floor space going from 763sq m to 1315sq m.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/aldi-secures-expansion-go-ahead-21074408?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Aldi has announced a salary increase for its lorry drivers in an effort combat the ongoing driver shortage leading to empty supermarket shelves.

The move follows Tesco offering a £1,000 joining bonus fee to lorry drivers amid staffing pressures on UK supermarkets.

The payment, which applies to new starters who join from July 14 until September 30, appears on various advertisements for HGV driver roles on the food retailer’s website.

Now, according to reports in The Sunday Times, The German supermarket has increased its lorry driver wages to address the shortage of HGV drivers.

The generous offer from two of the UK’s ‘big six’ supermarkets comes after supermarkets had to reassure customers that there was no need to panic buy following pictures of half-empty shelves and reports of temporary shortages.

A “perfect storm” of aggravating factors was blamed for the situation, including self-isolating workers and prior staff shortages.

cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19484546.aldi-join-tesco-drastic-attempt-tackle-empty-supermarket-shelves/

[SteveH]

This is a DP story, guess whats on sale in B&M stores.........................

[SteveH]

Retail giant M&S has issued their shoppers an urgent warning that one of its major services will close in two weeks.

M&S confirmed they are to close their banking services, meaning anyone with an account needs to take urgent action.

The bank will shut all existing current accounts on August 31

Customers need to transfer their funds into a new account by this date or they may put themselves at risk

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/ms-warns-customers-one-major-21341202

[Hugo]

Marks and Spencer reveal when new Llandudno retail park store will open
The retailer announced three years ago that they were relocating from the current Mostyn Street site

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/marks-spencer-reveal-new-llandudno-21341286

[SteveH]

It does make me wonder, if we all took our holidays in the UK for the next couple years, how much it would help the economy and employment, after the effects of lockdown.

High streets to see £17 billion spending boom as 29 million Brits holiday in the UK

19 Aug 2021
29 million Brits have already or will holiday in the UK this year, spending a staggering £17 billion at local high streets across the country
Nearly seven in 10 holiday goers (67 per cent) are prioritising local businesses when spending while away
Almost three quarters (71 per cent) of retail workers have seen a rise in demand for products and services due to UK tourism
Half of small businesses (51 per cent) have had to employ more staff to keep up with new demand and capitalise on the opportunity
 

Regional high streets will see a £17 billion tourist spending boom this year, with 29 million Brits holidaying in the UK, according to new research by Direct Line business insurance. 1

British tourists are spending big with local businesses, giving them a helping hand after more than a year of difficulty. Nearly seven in 10 (67 per cent) domestic tourists are prioritising shopping at small businesses, which struggled during the pandemic.

The survey, which excluded London businesses, found that regional cafes and coffee shops are set to be busiest this year, with 57 per cent of holiday goers choosing to spend the largest amount of their holiday budget at these retailers.

There’s good news for small independent shops as well, with nearly half of tourists (49 per cent) saying they’ll buy goods from them while they’re on holiday – music to small business owners’ ears after more than a year of closures and uncertainty.

more.... https://www.directlinegroup.co.uk/en/news/brand-news/2021/high-streets-to-see-p17-billion-spending-boom-as-29-million-brit.html

[DaveR]

Ruscoe’s Newsagents in Queens Road, Craig Y Don has closed down and has been cleared out.

[Bri Roberts]

However, its former owner has retained the paper rounds for himself and the shop is now to let.

[SteveH]

EMPTY premises in hard-hit North Wales high streets could soon be filled thanks to an innovative grant scheme.      ref Wales247

Up to £10,000 funding packages are available through the Welsh Government Town Centre Entrepreneurship Fund for entrepreneurs who are keen to open a business in Wrexham, Bangor, Rhyl, or Colwyn Bay.

The Town Centre Miwtini start-up programme – a collaboration between Enterprise Hub @M-SParc and Wrexham Enterprise Hub – wants to hear from interested parties with business ideas that could lead to them occupying a unit in one of the struggling retail districts.

One-day courses will be held on each of the following dates with key information on themes including guidance on the fund, lease guidance, finance, marketing, customer service, and Smart Towns, urban areas that use different electronic methods and sensors to collect data, which in turn is used to shape decision-making and manage services and resources more efficiently.

September 8: 29 Conway Road, Colwyn Bay – https://miwtinitowncentrecolwynbay.eventbrite.co.uk
September 15: Costigans, Rhyl – miwtinitowncentrerhyl.eventbrite.co.uk
September 22: Kyffin Café Deli, Bangor – miwtinitowncentrebangor.eventbrite.co.uk
September 29: Enterprise Hub, Wrexham – https://miwtinitowncentrewrexham.eventbrite.co.uk
A recent report by the Welsh Retail Consortium revealed nearly one in five shops in Wales is empty and the country has the second highest vacancy rate of any UK region behind the North East of England (20.6%).

Enterprise Hub Manager Sara Roberts said this is a great opportunity for anyone with an idea for a venture and looking for commercial premises to take it to the next level and reverse this national trend.

“We would encourage people to capitalise on this funding, especially anyone who has started a new business from home in lockdown,” she said.

cont  https://www.wales247.co.uk/10k-grants-to-help-fill-empty-north-wales-high-streets?IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4

[SteveH]

I think truck drivers wages will be getting better very soon, I was told yesterday, one of our big supermarkets is employing over 70's as van delivery drivers.........

 Tesco and Sainsbury's respond to concerns over water shortages in stores amid HGV driver issues
A shortage of HGV drivers has led to supply chain issues in recent weeks with a number of retailers, including Asda, acknowledging some products may still have reduced availability
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/tesco-sainsburys-respond-concerns-over-21387042


McDonald's runs out of milkshakes amid mounting supply chain issues
The fast-food outlet also said they were unable to stock bottled drinks in its outlets
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/mcdonalds-runs-out-milkshakes-amid-21384995?IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4