The government has urged us to ‘spend, spend, spend’ to save the economy, but one Yorkshire woman has been fighting for small businesses for years.
Consumer expert Kate Hardcastle MBE is known as the ‘customer whisperer’ and, thanks to her company, Insight with Passion, she has travelled around the globe advising some of the world’s leading brands.
Now she has launched an online festival to support all the independent UK businesses in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
Bradford Means Business met the ‘queen of shops’ whose passion for retail was sown right here in this city.
The statistics are sobering. Two in five small businesses face closure because of coronavirus and a staggering three million business owners have not received any financial support from the government.
As stricken businesses turned to Kate for advice during the pandemic, she realised how much trouble smaller retailers were in and it propelled her to take action and organise the Indie Live Festival.
A host of celebrities are backing the campaign which will encourage customers to support independent firms and show off what they offer. The mum-of-three has always had a go-getting attitude.
We met more than ten years ago when she launched an initiative to save the high streets after the global recession of 2007.
Back then we visited the city centre of Bradford and she talked fondly of the iconic shops that were there when she was a child.
Now we are in another crisis.
Kate Hardcastle MBE- ‘Queen of shops’
“There is huge pressure on the UK retail industry right now, which impacts smaller businesses much harder. It therefore made perfect sense to combine the best of business and entertainment, to give our struggling independent businesses some vital help.”
Lockdown restrictions may have been eased, but there is talk of a ‘second wave’ on everyone’s lips and the wearing of face masks becoming mandatory. Shops have introduced one-way systems, card-only payments and social distancing measures.
Kate said that it was whilst helping independent retailers stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic that she realised just how many were at crisis point and needed urgent support.
“Myself and my team have been working tirelessly to support independent businesses throughout the pandemic.
“There is huge pressure on the UK retail industry right now, which impacts smaller businesses much harder. It therefore made perfect sense to combine the best of business and entertainment, to give our struggling independent businesses some vital help.”
Pre-Covid-19, Kate was always jetting around the world meeting CEOs about their brands or heading off to London to appear on the BBC or CNN or ITV to talk about her insider knowledge and analysing customer behaviour and trends. She is also a regular on shows like Eat, Shop, Save but, like many others, that all switched to video link and she remained as busy as ever.
“I filmed documentaries, the consumer programme and countless news segments all via video link. At one point I had a camera crew descend and they were outside while I was inside so we maintained social distancing.
“There was so much uncertainty over how consumers would behave once the crisis was over. Would shoppers flock back desperate to resume their old lives or would they hesitate and decide that they didn’t need those things anymore?”
She defines herself as a ‘behaviourist’.
“I haven’t had the most usual career but I have found my niche. I look at how customers are going to behave which is vital in this atmosphere of the new normal.”
Born in Huddersfield, she studied a business management degree at the University of Salford and got her first job at Ponden Mill. It was when she worked at the marketing department of bed firm Silentnight that her skills and knowledge really came to the fore.
She is credited with turning the fortunes of the firm around.
But the seeds of her love affair for shops was sown right here in Bradford, where both sets of grandparents worked in retail.
Kate said: “As a youngster I would spend a lot of time with my grandparents and I learned so much about retail from them.
“One set of grandparents ran a grocery store and there wasn’t a time that people weren’t stopping me to talk about them. They understood the importance of customer service and would go the extra mile. For example, if there was a single mum and she had a job interview, my grandparents would look after the child and provide a hot meal for them while their mum went for the interview.
“This was customer service and community spirit. My grandparents always went the extra mile for their customers and people appreciated that as they didn’t hesitate to tell me.”
Her grandparents on the other side worked at the plush department store, Brown, Muffs. The iconic building is still there in Ivegate and in its heyday it was known for its luxury goods.
“I used to go to Carter’s toy shop. I would love looking round. Often we wouldn’t buy any of the toys, but I would always go to the café to have a ‘Micky Mouse Special’- a drink made from ice cream and Coca Cola. It was all part of the wonderful experience.”
Kate, who was awarded an MBE in 2018 and has won a slew of awards for her work, has always ensured that a proportion of her time and effort goes to charity.
For example, she enjoyed a 20-year singing career and founded the Charity Dreamgirls, raising tens of thousands of pounds for numerous good causes.
As the world ground to a halt under the pandemic, Kate said it showed the importance of retail staff, along with NHS workers.
“In the past they haven’t been given enough credit or respect for the work they do, but hopefully this crisis has shown that as well as NHS staff, our cleaners, shopkeepers, delivery drivers deserve our respect, and that this will be reflected in higher wages. It’s a solid reminder of the vital work they do.”
The business landscape has changed in Bradford too. We may have lost iconic department stores like Brown, Muffs and Sunwin House, but there has been the growth of new businesses like dessert parlours and Kate said this was ideal for families.
“I love the fact that it is a familyfriendly environment where I can take my pre-teen daughters who love to dress up. The places are glamorous and glittery and it feels like a special treat.”
We don’t know how these businesses will recover in the wake of Covid-19 but, in the meantime, Kate is doing her bit and the Indie Live event is gaining backing from a host of celebrities including comedian Rory Bremner and Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.
For more information visit: www.indiebusiness.live www.katehardcastle.co.uk www.insightwithpassion.co.uk
IT MADE PERFECT SENSE TO COMBINE THE BEST OF BUSINESS AND ENTERTAINMENT, TO GIVE OUR STRUGGLING INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES SOME VITAL HELP
IN THE PAST THEY HAVEN’T BEEN GIVEN ENOUGH CREDIT OR RESPECT FOR THE WORK THEY DO BUT HOPEFULLY THIS CRISIS HAS SHOWN THAT AS WELL AS NHS STAFF, OUR CLEANERS, SHOP KEEPERS, DELIVERY DRIVERS DESERVE OUR RESPECT
