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27 Sep 2023

A recent survey of retailers across the UK has shown that cash remains a crucial payment method for independent shops.

27 Sep 2023

Almost 2,000 more British independent shops were left empty in the first half of this year, as small businesses struggled to cope with rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

27 Sep 2023

An independent shop owner in Liverpool has said that independent shops in the city centre have taken to creating their own security WhatsApp group, warning each other of shoplifters in the...

27 Sep 2023

A focus on independent and ‘browse-only’ shops can help to reverse the fortunes of the struggling high street, according to an extensive study by Manchester Metropolitan University.

20 Sep 2023

ACT members will benefit from a long term discounted commission of just 3%

15 Sep 2023

The team from Whistler Adventure School (WAS), which recently became the only centre in Canada accredited to offer Cytech technical three, is to deliver a series of free sessions in Scotland,...

13 Sep 2023

The recent pledge by police forces across England and Wales to pursue every lead that holds a reasonable chance of apprehending criminals and solving crimes has been welcomed by Bira, which...

12 Sep 2023

A family-run Liverpool restaurant hidden inside a basement is officially Britain's best vegan venue.

11 Sep 2023

A warning has been issued that shoplifters in the UK are becoming increasingly “emboldened” and appear to be often orchestrated by organised criminal groups, which steal to order,...

11 Sep 2023

It has been suggested that some shop owners may be unaware or unprepared for the upcoming change to regulations on single-use plastics on plates, bowls, trays, containers, cutlery and balloon...

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BA Issues Open Letter Calling on Government to Reclassify Bookshops as Essential Retailers

Posted on in Business News

ThBAe Booksellers Association (BA), member of the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC) has today written to key government Ministers and selected Lords letter calling on the Government to classify bookshops as essential retailers therefore allowing them to reopen under current lockdown restrictions in England, and laying the groundwork for the essential designation to be implemented for future lockdowns.

The open letter, written by the Bookseller's Association MD, Meryl Halls, to Minsters at BEIS, HMCLG and DCMS outlines the many ways in which bookshops provide an essential contribution to society, from the proven links between reading and improved mental wellbeing, to providing educational resources to children and adults, to contributing to local economies.

The BA argues that the Christmas trading period is the most important time of year and can make or break the sustainability of a local bookshop. The BA draws on the example of garden centres being belatedly classified as essential due to them being deemed beneficial to the nation's health, while avoiding catastrophic losses should the sector have missed out on Spring trading.

The letter also highlights the inconsistencies within the current definitions of essential retail, underlining the commercial disadvantage faced by bookshops, with essential retailers that sell books being allowed to remain open, while booksellers themselves are forced to shut up shop.

Meryl Halls, MD at the Booksellers Association, said: "On behalf of our members, we urge the Government to categorise bookshops as essential retailers. Bookshops play a unique part in the culture of our country and books have a crucial role to play in the health and well-being of our population. Bookshops have been designated as essential in other countries, and the ‘essential' categorisation will acknowledge the crucial role that bookshops play in our culture, economy and wider society."

Echoing the words of Philip Pullman, Halls added: "Bookshops are lanterns of civilisation and, for many, beacons of hope. We urge the Government to consider classifying them as essential retailers."

The BA's open letter to Minsiters calling on bookshops to be classified as essential can be read in full here.

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