Ahead of the National Assembly for Wales elections on 5th May, retailers are welcoming local candidates into their stores. These will be the fifth elections for the Assembly, which holds a range of powers over the economy, planning, employment and now business rates.
Local SPAR retailer Ramesh Samani has this week welcomed Nick Ramsay AM, the Conservative candidate seeking re-election for the Assembly constituency of Monmouth, to discuss changes made to adapt to the needs of customers and the regulatory issues faced by his business. Ramesh Samani has been an independent SPAR retailer for 29 years. His store underwent a major refurbishment in 2014 and offers a full range of chilled and non-chilled produce as well as Post Office Local services.
During the visit, Ramesh Samani raised the importance of suitable parking provisions to drive footfall for his neighbourhood store as well as the need for the business rates and finance system to incentivise small businesses to expand and grow. Nick Ramsay spoke about the value in shopping locally and the convenience sector’s contribution towards employing a range of local people.
The Welsh Local Shop Report, available here, shows that 3,167 convenience stores contribute over 25,000 jobs to the Welsh economy. 22% of Welsh shop owners work more than 70 hours per week and 41% of convenience businesses are owned by family partnerships, while 86% of Welsh retailers engaged in some form of community activity last year.
