The winner of a £500 Swansea City Centre spending spree has said Swansea’s independent businesses are its trump card.
Astra Phelps has scooped a £500 prize via the Swansea BID (Business Improvement District) Independents’ Month competition, which saw Swansea BID shine a spotlight on the City Centre’s many independent retailers and businesses throughout the whole of July, via a social media and loyalty card campaign.
Small is beautiful was the message to visitors to Swansea City Centre throughout Independents Month, with people encouraged to shop locally in July – from boutiques and beauty salons, to cafes and restaurants – in a drive to remind visitors to the City Centre about the wide variety of goods and services on offers from smaller, independent businesses, which are, in many ways, the lifeblood of a unique, vibrant City Centre.
Astra, from Mount Pleasant, said:
“I know some people feel that Swansea compares unfavourably with some other towns and cities, but if you explore it properly you can find some real gems. Swansea has unique traders offering quality goods and the kind of ‘old- fashioned’, careful customer service that has never gone out of style here. I was keen to support Independents Month because I have long felt that Swansea’s independent traders are its trump card. For example, I have been shopping at Hugh Phillips butchers, in Swansea Market, for years and you can find great dairy produce and fruit and veg at nearby stalls there, as well as lovely independent cafes, travel agents, jewellers and salons – all within a few minute’s walk. None of us want our small high street businesses to struggle, so lets use them or lose them.”
Projects Manager at Swansea BID, Amelia Rudman, said: “We’re very pleased to see Astra win this great £500 spending spree in Swansea City Centre, and she is clearly a champion of independent businesses so I don’t think she will struggle to spend it!
“There is, of course a serious message to the Independents Month competition and promotion. Astra is correct – these are challenging times for all City Centre businesses and it is important that we give them our ongoing support. We are blessed with hundreds of independents offering unique goods and experiences, which are, in many ways, the lifeblood of a unique, vibrant City Centre with personality. Many thanks to all of the City Centre businesses who got behind Independents Month.”
