Welcome to my first ever column for
Market Trade News. I really am honoured to have been asked to write for a magazine which caters for my fellow traders!
Well it’s that time of year again and you guys like me are no doubt getting ready to “make hay while the sun shines” and finish the end of the year on a high (and hopefully our bank balances too). There is no doubt that this year has been tough, but there is no point dwelling on that, as it was mainly down to the terrible weather we have had this year and not even Simon Cowell himself could control that!
What I would say is, let’s all concentrate on the busy time ahead and use our time and, of course our pitches, creatively! I think that there really is no better time to trade than Christmas, so let’s all make sure we are 100%
committed to being on our stalls for the full Christmas period and getting some money in the pot. I’m sure everyone has taken advantage of any extra opening hours that are available, I personally think that the Sunday before Christmas will be a great day for ‘Shopping Local’ and have made this an extra trading day in my calendar. Those of you that don’t have Sunday as a normal trading day, (as I don’t), please remember that ‘man made markets’ will only work if people know you are open, so let’s all utilise the local press, social networking (my twitter name is @theadamcorbally and I am happy to follow all traders back, promote and re-tweet any events extra days if asked), good old fashioned word of mouth and make sure that the ever powerful ‘A boards’ are out in force on any non regular market days to show regular customers, and hopefully plenty of new ones, that we are open and eager to serve.
Extra lines are always a good idea at Christmas and something I have always been keen to capitalise on. As a greengrocer I made the natural progression into Christmas Trees, quickly realising the Tree job is physically demanding and of course you have to be on the ball with your buying and more importantly selling, as a
Christmas Tree isn’t worth anything to anyone on Christmas Day! On saying that, I’m sure we all don’t mind putting in the graft so long as we get financial reward at the end of it. To go hand in hand with the trees, it wasn’t long before I realised the potential in Grave pots, Wreaths and lights, which all proved as festive best sellers.
We all want to ‘up’ the takings at Christmas and I think that most markets already have someone doing most of the festive lines mentioned above, so it’s time to think outside of the box.
OK, so Christmas is a time when footfall and trading days are up, so why not get yourself a new line in for Christmas. There is plenty of inspiration in this edition right now, check out the line I have bought in from China on my Website, adamcorbally.co.uk, and see what you think? It has nothing to with Fruit and Veg, although it’s a great product to
sell as a gift idea on my stall in the run up to Christmas.
I would recommend an impulse buy product, i.e. something you would have enough cash in your pocket to buy there and then, you could get home easily, on public transport etc, and of course something that appeals to anyone, maybe the sort of product that would make a fun present for that awkward to buy for family member or a secret Santa?
If there are any ‘Egg Head’ fans out there you will be pleased to know that I represented us traders in a Celebrity Special and captained a team of Apprentice candidates who went head to head with the ‘Brains of Britain’. This should be shown as a Christmas Special or sometime in the New Year, on BBC2.
I will be back in the new year and will have loads to talk about, especially ‘Love Your Local Market’ campaign, which is set to be amazing and inspiring to a new generation of traders and of course, those ever important customers! I am personally setting myself a goal to get every single market in the UK to take part!
I would like to finish by wishing each and everyone one of you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
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