A Black Friday plea from a small independent retail business

In the past on Black Friday™ I used to live blog it for the Guardian, initially as a pseudo-affiliate marketing link ploy, and in later years with a view to promoting small sustainable businesses in the UK that got in touch to promote things, which felt more on-brand.

But this year on Black Friday™ I wanted to draw your eye towards this message posted by a friend of mine, who runs an independent gift and plant shop in Walthamstow, ironically in the same shop that I had my first retail job in, all the way back in 1989, at Note For Note records. Anyway this message from the Every Space is worth a couple of minutes of your time:

“Black Friday is a good time to say a few honest words about the reality of running a small business right now. Once again, we’re not participating in discounting madness. This year we’ve also decided against a charity donation.

If you’ve had a chance to chat with us or visited the shop recently, you’ll be aware of the challenges we’ve been facing…

From harassment and shoplifting to a recent burglary, it’s been a tough time for us. These events have hit us financially and left us tired, frustrated, and angry when we’re putting all our efforts into what should be our most profitable time of year.

Plus, we’re in the middle of a rent review which will see our overheads increase by nearly 70% …

It’s tough out here. Our central location makes it no easier; we are busy, but the powers-that-be aren’t aligned with small retail. The potential £’s of our sq footage feels more valued than the experience of small business.

As we step into December, we’re hopeful that the hard work we’ve put in will be enough to sustain us for another 12 months. We’re counting on your support to keep our doors open …

I think it’s really important to put this into the public domain, especially as we’re not the only business dealing with all of this right now. We’re all in this together, and your support means more than you know.

As we approach Black Friday, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks to all our customers, both local and online. Your support means the world to us.

If you don’t find something you like with us, that’s okay, but we encourage you to spend your money at another local shop. They all need you. Let’s keep our Walthamstow community vibrant and full of unique indie shops and businesses …

You can find their website here.