Organisers of the Wilmslow Artisan Market are carrying out a survey to gauge public opinion, the results of which will determine whether the market continues or not.
The questionnaire has been prompted by three Wilmslow businesses who raised objections to the monthly market at a meeting of the Wilmslow Business Group on Monday 30th January.
The subject of Wilmslow Artisan Market was raised by a manager from one of the town's clothing shops. She said "The difference on market day is phenomenal, my VIPs and important customers won't come in on market days because they cannot park". Another retailer said "The market is seriously hurting our business, particularly as it is on the last Saturday of the month which is an important day for us".
The market was set up by Denise Valente and Vicky Jackson in July with the aim of creating a community event which brought people together, added vibrancy to the town centre and created a unique offering to make Wilmslow a shopping destination.
Denise Valente explained "The Artisan Market was brought to Wilmslow to revitalise our town by increasing the number of people choosing to come into the town, rather than visiting out of town shopping centres, and giving them a reason to do so by offering them an event with products that cannot be purchased anywhere else in the town."
Since July the market has grown from 54 traders to 128 in January, they have now reached capacity with over 400 local businesses on the waiting list for a stall.
The Artisan Market has certainly succeeded in attracting the crowds and proved very popular with stallholders, however, a number of retailers feel they are not reaping the benefits.
Instead some shop and restaurant managers feel very strongly that the market is having a detrimental effect on their business and have requested that a survey is carried out asap to gauge the feelings of both the town's businesses and also the visitors to the market.
Denise said "We have created two surveys, both of which will be going out this week and we hope to have collected and collated the data by the end of February. David McGifford, Senior Regeneration Officer, at Cheshire East Council has offered help with the creation of the surveys and manpower to distribute and collate the results so that the survey could be done quickly and in an unbiased way.
"It's important to survey both the businesses and the visitors as the original aims for creating the market were two fold. One to create a community event to encourage people to come in and shop in town and by default increase footfall for the local businesses to take advantage of.
"Therefore we need to know how both sides look at the outcome so far. We feel that those businesses not currently benefitting may not be taking full advantage of the additional footfall, but just looking at the market as competition instead of making the most of the opportunity in front of them.
"As part of the business survey we have already set up the facility, if it is required, for workshops via Cheshire East Council, to look at ways of maximizing the opportunity of the new footfall and guiding businesses on the best ways to take advantage of it."
Moving the market from Saturdays to Sundays was discussed at this month's meeting of Wilmslow Business Group so I asked Denise Valente whether this is something they are looking to do.
She told wilmslow.co.uk "Of course it is an option, as market operators it would make absolutely no difference to Vicky and I if we held it on a Sunday, but it would not fulfil the reasons why we set it up. Sunday wouldn't bring the opportunity to our retailers - that's one of the main reasons we did it.
"Only 22% of Wilmslow businesses currently open on a Sunday therefore how could the 78% benefit from the increased footfall if it were to take place on a Sunday? The market was set up to help drive footfall – what's the point if the retailers are closed?
"Wilmslow has a very different retail demographic to other neighbouring towns like Knutsford and Macclesfield where they have a much bigger proportion of independents."
The results of this survey will determine whether the Artisan Market continues in Wilmslow or not.
Denise explained "If the results of the survey are negative then yes we will close the Wilmslow market. We have thirteen other towns who want the market and are extremely supportive, so why should we battle with people who don't."
If you have visited the market do take a few minutes to provide feedback by completing the online questionnairre.
All feedback will remain anonymous and will only be used for the purpose of this study.
The next Artisan Market takes place this Saturday, 18th February, when traders will be joined by members of Incredible Edible.
Vicky Jackson said "They will be promoting their plans for Wilmslow's entry in 'RHS In Bloom Entry'. Edible Wilmslow In Bloom hope to get local residents, churches and schools involved in dressing up their spaces with colourful, edible plant displays to really brighten up the town this Summer.
"Plus we have the 'Love Food, Hate Waste' team on hand to promote composting, which should be of great interest to the gardening folk of Wilmslow, and Wilmslow Prep School will be on hand to discuss their plans for 2012."
The market is held from 10am until 4pm.
Please do share your views regarding the Wilmslow Artisan Market using the comment box below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
I could appreciate if 'great coffee' was served on the street impacting Starbucks etc. and, 'hair styling' causing pampering at Barards to fall. But, retail businesses are driven by foot-fall and the market absolutely increases the number of people in the town.
I think it's a great boost to the atmosphere and character of Wilmslow.
There is plenty of parking in Wilmslow, the Water Lane multistorey car park is often half empty even on a market Saturday. The Artisan Market brings a sense of community to the town; there's a great atmosphere, people talk to each other, and the stall holders bring products that aren't in the shops. Buying food from real people is so much more interesting than the bland offerings of the supermarkets.
I would be very sad if a few clothes shops and their so called VIPs brought the market to an end. If they do, I fear that will be the end of Wilmslow. We are already overburdened with supermarkets and clothes shops: the Artisan Market has given us our community back: let's keep it !
I guess one option would be to hold the market bi-monthly?
I am a member of the Wilmslow Business Group and a resident of Wilmslow. My business does not rely on "foot fall" so the market has no effect on my business at all. As a resident, I fully support the Market and the hard work that the organisers and a whole host of other volunteers have put in to making it the success that it is.
Following the last Wilmslow Business Group meeting on Monday 31st January, a report in the Wilmslow Express quotes Ruth McNulty, vice-chair of Wilmslow Town Council, as saying: “Some of the retailers I have spoken to are actively hostile towards the market. We are very concerned about the comments we are hearing.”
I encourage all residents of Wilmslow to voice their opinion using the questionnaire. In doing so, Wilmslow Town Councils elected officials can then get a true representation of the opinions of the residents whom they were elected to represent. Not just some retailers that want to complain because legitimate competition for footfall is affecting their footfall.
The businesses of Wilmslow do not contribute financially to the funding of Wilmslow Town Council. It is funding by the residents of Wilmslow. Let the people of Wilmslow have their say.
I understand some out off town suppliers have arrangements with local retailers for collection of orders placed at market.
Is Grove St the best location for the number of stalls allowed. I suggest it is too narrow. An alternative location may be cec long stay car park or Waitrose top leval car parj
Note to Wilmslow retailrs: All pot customers are VIPs
What the few complaining retailers should do is adapt to it, embrace it and look at it as an opportunity to attract the increased footfall into their own premises by improving their own retail offering. It is also interesting that the 'complainants' businesses are not named in your article. Are they businesses which are failing anyway? Competition never did anyone any harm - it should be embraced by all the retailers, the extra footfall used to grow and improve all the businesses.
Keep up the good work, lets see the market extended, the bigger the better so long as growth is controlled and the congestion which can occur on Grove Street doesn't get worse.
As for it inconveniencing 'VIP' customers, boo hoo. Let them shop on the other 30 or so days of the month. Seriously, how can anyone be expected to be taken seriously making such a claim. Unbelievable.
However, I do think the market has expanded to fast and has lost some of its original direction and purpose. The dictionary defintion of an 'Artisan' is: A person or company that makes a high-quality, distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand and using traditional methods.
Where is the 'Artisan' is opening catering tins of olives and selling them, why not replace them with a small company thats marinates raw olives themselves? Where is the 'Artisan' in selling franchised cooking sauce, complete with corporate advertising? Where is the 'Artisan' in selling mass produced chunky silver jewellery when the market has several traders that obviously make and sell their own products?
If the market is to continue and to offer Wilmslow something different, unique and not available on the high street, then the quality and variety of stalls has to be managed.
Maybe too late for Sat, but it would be an idea for Organisers to hand out list of traders for Sat and ask visitors to score each one out of 10, with a brief comment. Then they will know which ones are popular. Equally ask traders to record number of actual customers.
To find out the market is not welcome by some comes as no surprise, a struggling retail shop manager under pressure to achieve targets each month will look for anything to blame for their missed targets.
I would say to them question what you sell do people want it? is it value for money? did you make the stuff your shops selling? No to any of those questions and your probably not qualified to try and jepodize a producers /artisan market.
One last thing, in 46 years I have never seen Grove Street so busy and so many Wilmslow folks enjoying Grove St.
As a shopper, frankly the service, passion, commitment and relationship I get from the market traders is better than any I have encountered in the chain and branded shops in my 14 years here. If the retailers fear for their business, then follow the example set by the market traders and offer the community (me) something we want that supports the local economy. Don't spoil our vibrant community for a few nay-sayers.
And if VIPS can't park then (a) walk (b) use trains as the centre is very close to the station (c) get their chauffeur to drop them off!
Contrary to reports we are all for the markets, and any events for that matter, that bring people into our town centre. What we struggle with is, the fact that they sell things available in the town already and that they have capitalised on an already vibrant footfall on a Saturday instead of trying to create one of their own. We already offer a huge 25% discount on a market day, and we have done since the first market day. We flyer and poster actively and communicate the fact that we do market day offers, however people seem to choose to go to catering wagons or BBQ pits outside our building instead.
theBoardroom is trading in one of the toughest climates known for some time and in an industry that has to compete with supermarkets, tough government red tape and legislation! We are also seeing a call to tax us even more because we open late. We have to charge 20% VAT on food sales where as a supermarket doesn’t as well as a climate levy on our power and waste bills.
We occupy one of Wilmslow’s most iconic buildings and offer the best value products around, we even source or beer and food locally, why should we pay for a stall and extra staff on a market day to compete with a burger van or catering wagon?
Let me ask you this, if there was no “prepared” food sold on the market then people (armed with their discounts of course) would be more inclined to use us and all the other food outlets in town on any market day, if we got busier as a result we could all employ more people. Why would you not put that as a priority for the town rather than creating a buzz around a market once a month selling items already available in the town?
This Christmas saw our best trading period hijacked by 3 weeks of markets in the town, the Christmas markets were a failure, which beforehand, we offered to sponsor. That is a local business being profiled in the town, the sponsorship would have cost us near to £5,000 but we were turned down, our only stipulation was to be able to provide the food and alcohol and give us the opportunity to profile ourselves as being a year old in the town at the time.
Another problem we face is that Grove Street was left looking like a waste site on Saturday, as it has every market Saturday. theBoardroom, Chaplin’s and the ST lounge are very disappointed with the way its left it’s not a good site for our clients to see as they approach our businesses, we take pride in our surroundings and you can see our staff clearing the street ourselves.
Our food sales alone on a market day are 80% down this is no coincidence and may other “bricks and mortar” businesses in the town see their footfall decrease on a market day. More time and expense is spent publicising the markets in Wilmslow than actually marketing the town of Wilmslow itself. Surely in this tough time our priorities must be on those businesses and services in the town who are permanent, do you want the town to follow Stockport with 30% plus unoccupied shops and offices?
We are here 52 weeks of the year and pay rates & rent, power and so much more in order to trade, the markets are run by a company not the council so it’s obvious that profits need to be made but this shouldn’t be at the expense of existing traders, we are independent as are so many other businesses in the town, why do you not visit us more often?
We believe that a market selling products NOT readily available in the town should be the main priority and also on a Sunday. Traders can then choose whether to open their doors or not, and compete on that scale. Footfall doesn’t equal sales and there was already a good footfall in Wilmslow on a Saturday, try creating one on a Sunday instead.
Remember, we have been, and always will be, a strong supporter of the markets since the original ideas were first discussed, we let the traders use the loos and we service the stall holders with teas and coffees, we also offer discounts on Market days. Please respect that as a business in your town we understand it well and work every day of the year to make it a great place to come.
Nobody would want to see Wilmslow suffer to the same extent, and I think to suggest that the market could be a major factor in Wilmslow's downfall is unreasonable. We are talking about a once a month event after all.
To the butchers and fish shop...why not try a stall to show us what you produce? [the Bakers have] for sure if its more local and more reasonably priced than the others then I'd consider buying and maybe even making the extra hike to Chapel lane - because its hardly central. In agreement with Helen, there isn't, in effect, a butchers, bakers, fishmongers in Wilmslow. For local food I normally trek to Bramhall as everything there is easy to find and central [and local friendly traders]. As per my previous comment then the prices of some of the market traders is high [and not necessarily better] so if the local butchers, bakers etc were more reasonable/better and the friendliness was there I'd consider making Chapel Lane a place to visit outside of market days
But that doesn't stop me enjoying the market one Saturday a month for the variety of food on offer, the street food and the wonderful atmosphere. People who want to eat or drink in a bar will do so, Colin, but it isn't the same atmosphere as the market, and it is only one day a month. Changing to a Sunday would change the whole character of the market as for many working people like me Saturday is the day we usually buy our food. It also brings me into Wilmslow where I often use the opportunity to go into other shops as well. Don't let's allow these relatively minor concerns ruin something many of us value: if we end up with a massive superstore on the Rectory Fields site (which we may well do) the market and all the small shops may be a distant memory. Let's celebrate and enjoy what we have in our town and enjoy the interactions with the independent shops we do have and the market traders; the market leaves 30 days a month for the established businesses and bars who might want to use the popularity of the market as a way to think about what people really do want in the town: rather than what they think we want.
The image of the lap dancers out of the s.t.lounge cleaning the street makes the mind boggle!
The servicing of the stall holders you offered im affraid was a bit too pricey for us and we bring a flask anyway.
The dilemmas of a bar/night spot surely cannot be at the peril of a once a month 6 hour market? As Pippa says you get a huge retail outlet on the rectory and all the town will suffer.
I feel as a trader on the market whose local that yes there are some issues that need addressing, but on the whole the feed back we get off our regulars is that they like talking to the producers of the products they are buying and are fed up with the same highstreet retailers you can find in every town in England having the monopoly for so long and every highstreet looking them same as a result. A fair proportion of the market crowd would probably not venture in to yours or anyone elses bar, that's not what they are there for. Plus a lot are locals who pop in get what they want and then go again.
Since personally moving onto the road 3 years ago, and purchasing my shop soon after, I have found each and every shop owner (and not to mention envery member of their staff) I have encountered to be a wealth of knowledge and expertise in their own area, and to boot their service is always provided with a smile.
And as regards pricing, it seems you have jumped to the all too common assumption that local does not mean value! I know from personal experience of pricing my own products, and purchasing many items on Chapel Lane that you could quite conceivably save money doing your weekly shop locally. Certainly more practical and cost effective than shopping at the artisan markets, and without doubt a saving on driving to Bramhall!
It saddens me to see Chapel Lane being quite so comprehensively overlooked by the first people to complain when local shops do disapear because of a lack of custom.
The online customer survey (compiled with assistance of CEC) ignores customers without internet access, or non subscribers to this website, and is limited in scope.
I suggest the organizers produce a writteh & internet customer questionnaire for the next market to assess each stall on on relevence/acceptabity/price of proferred goods. for local market.They have undertaken a stallholders survey of customer purchases by postcode at Feb market, so all that woud be left is for Wilmslow Business Group to identify dissenting business'.
I would suggest all this info should be provided by first anniversary of Wimslow market
Hopefully the comments on this forum will reflect those generated by the full survey and the Artisan Market will remain for the vast majority who want to see it remain.
The Artisan Market was formed last year following a presentation by David McGifford of Cheshire East Council. He presented the findings of a benchmark exercise undertaken on Wilmslow town centre, and the results were worrying. Not only was foot fall on our high street shown to be low, but also the short amount of time the visitors spent on our high street was worryingly low. He pointed out Wilmslow’s lack of independents, the trend’s towards shopping in out of town shopping centres and the rise in internet purchasing. His presentation then moved to ways our town could increase foot fall, one possible solution being specialist events such as markets. David’s suggestion is also backed up by a 2007 government report, which details examples of how markets have been proven to increase footfall for towns.
I was inspired and so was Denise, and with guidance by David and Diane Smith (town centre manager CEC) we set about recruiting traders we felt would be of interest to our family, friends and neighbours and consequently hopefully the people of Wilmslow.
Reasons for holding it on a Saturday and also on Grove Street -
Findings from the 2007 government report show that most businesses adjacent to a market benefit from the additional footfall, consequently we felt that Grove Street was the ideal location within Wilmslow. Choosing a Saturday was strategic. The intention was to showcase Wilmslow as a vibrant shopping centre. When you realise that 78% of businesses have closed doors on a Sunday, it made perfect sense to showcase Wilmslow, its shops, services and market on a Saturday. Cheshire East Council insisted we held the market on the third weekend so not to be in competition with other markets in the area.
The Artisan Market has increased footfall into Wilmslow. As stated in the comments above it is important that the businesses in Wilmslow promote themselves to the visitors on market day, and take advantage of the footfall generated. Whether this is though leaflets or maps showing what’s on offer throughout Wilmslow, or market specials in shop windows (thank you Alison for your suggestions), after all you have to be in it, to win it.
We strive to put on the best event we can, and include traders we feel will be of interest to our visitors, but we get it wrong every so often, its something we are definitely working on. I do hope you agree Bob Ellis that we are going in the right direction regarding the stalls for Februarys’ market.
Dave Cash as discussed on market day in February I love your idea about the Artisan customers grading traders. This will definitely be introduced, and works well with what you were saying Alison Warburton.
Pippa I agree with you, we need to draw people’s attention to the half empty multi story on Water Lane, perhaps signage on market day?
I just wanted to mention that Ruth McNulty and Keith from Wilmslow town council have always been incredibly supportive about what we have been trying to achieve, not only attending most markets but giving advise.
Litter is a mammoth task each market. The extra footfall provides extra visitor waste, (no trader waste is tolerated). Denise and I spend the day litter picking, but I think the issue here is that we haven’t so far asked for help. We need to publicise the fact that we need assistance and recruit a team of volunteers’ to help us.
Angela’s point that the market is keeping people in town for longer is exactly what we aspired for, please remember the results of David McGiffords benchmarking exercise.
I agree Christine, but it has got us all talking about our town, so hopefully it will be beneficial in the end.
This is an idea that would benefit all areas of Wilmslow, and indeed allow people to really appreciate all that Wilmslow has to offer, as many people are not even aware of the existence of Chapel Lane, and would perhaps not venture to some of the roads suggested above because they don't think there's anything there for them, when if fact there more than likely is; hence returning to the point that people only think there are no independent traders in Wilmslow.