Retail
Empowering rural retails to sell and maximise on their unique selling points to enable them to compete on a higher, differentiated level, taking advantage of local markets and the opportunities to add value to products.
Actions: Business improvement through a modular approach. Service, Marketing, Monitoring, Supply, Logistics, Merchandising, Networks and Modelling. Creating strong linkage and generic outcomes from work with Support Merseyside.
Beneficiaries: Any rural retail business that has a business need or a weakness they would like to improve on.
Development opportunities
| The help pack that is split initially into seven units will have a set budget appropriate to the task. | |
| Evidence:
Cracking The Code Research Findings into the Way Entrepreneurs Start and Build High Growth Businesses 2004 Knowsley Enterprise and Business Start up Strategy 2006 St Helens LEGI application 2005 National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association (FARMA) Agriculture in Merseyside: Baseline Study and Development Strategy |
SWOT: Planning and development control cited as a major constraint on rural businesses seeking to develop and diversify, strong network of transport links within sub region. |
| Support packs, specialist advice on problem areas, promotion and marketing | |
| Evidence: see above | SWOT: Close proximity between town and country – opportunity to increase levels of urban / rural engagement |
| Specialist advice on problem areas | |
| Evidence: see above | SWOT: Planning and development control cited as a major constraint on rural businesses seeking to develop and diversify, insufficient finance cited as a constraint fro rural business to develop and diversify. |
| Promotion and marketing | |
| Evidence: see above | SWOT: Rural Merseyside is not taking full advantage of the high quality agricultural land to maximise farm incomes and so is losing out on its “Productive Landscape” (CIAT), number of potential opportunity sites within the rural area near local service centres. |
The project will support all business to customer (B to C) activity. This project is not be exclusive to farm shops! The improvement and maximisation of the current retail offering are the drivers to create a quality environment to purchase quality products or produce. Value, discount and bargain retailing should not be supported apart from "E" trading as it is not possible to differentiate against established multiples on value.
Current retail outlets that are also café/coffee shops can requested improvements to their cafes and kitchens. A shop that has a tea room or café is retail and a place that has a café or tea room is an attraction.
Proposed intervention
Proposed intervention for Support Mersey grant is 40% to a maximum of £100K. The minimum grant level is £2k for a £5k project, Eligible expenditure is an invoice supported by a cheque of bank transfer with evidence of defrayment from a bank statement. CASH PAYMENTS are ineligible items of expenditure.
The project has to demonstrates additional turnover and Gross Value Added (GVA) this a measure of a business that is made up of wage costs, depreciation, interest payments and profit.
Funding is only available to trading enteritis (sole traders, partnerships, Limited companies, social enterprises, charities and cooperatives).
Download expression of interest form (200kb WORD DOC)
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