Back Our Businesses: ‘A price hike will kill us,’ says St Giles’ Street business owner

Northampton’s St Giles’ Street is home to an array of independent, small businesses who are all fighting to survive the increase in prices.

From cafes and pubs, to clothing and vintage shops, to food retailers, the street is not short of quality – but that does not make them safe from the realities of the cost of living crisis for businesses.

Towards the end of last month (September 21), a new Government scheme was unveiled to cap energy prices for businesses in line with what is being offered to households.

However, the initial period is six months for businesses and 18 months longer for household bills – with many pulling the Government up on this inequality.

Chronicle & Echo visited St Giles’ Street to find out how businesses are already being impacted, their anticipations for the future, and how they feel about the Government’s latest scheme.

At what should be a time for celebration for The Eccentric Englishman after celebrating its first birthday, is actually a time of worry as its electricity bill went up £70 last month alone – and this is just the beginning.

Owner Liz Cox put off increasing prices for as long as she could, but says she “had no choice” but to make the shift and tried her best to remain within the remit of what other cafes and bars are charging.

Liz, who puts her all into running the Mad Hatter and Phileas Fogg themed bar and cafe, said: “The Government never seems to care about small businesses. It will kill us if we face a price hike in six month’s time.

“We will only just be recovering from the post-Christmas January and February lull by that point.

“Easter is the first time people start going away and even then, it is a very quiet time for us in this trade. It’s a real worry.”

Liz described some weeks of trade as “awful” and others as “very good”, but fears destination venues like hers will be the first to suffer from cutbacks.

“We are lucky to have a very loyal following and hopefully people will support us,” she said. “As we only opened a year ago, everything goes straight back into the business and I don’t earn a wage.”

Nearby to The Eccentric Englishman is Dychurch Lifestyle, a traditional store selling footwear and country clothing.

Stephen Partington owner of the shop says Prime Minister Liz Truss’ new scheme “made him feel good for a few seconds” but has now left him feeling confused and “uneasy”.

He said: “I don’t truly understand the cap and don’t think it has been explained clearly, which makes me uneasy.

“Hopefully the Government will extend the scheme after the initial six month period, but I still think we’re going to be hit significantly by higher electricity bills at some point.

“It’s going to be tough and it’ll all come to the surface in the next few months as bills roll out – ours are way over £2,500 here.”

Stephen says the cost of products and items they have to buy in have seen an increase of more than 10 percent and despite claims that inflation rates are around this percentage, he believes “they are more”.

“I’ve had to put my prices up as a result and some are walking away thinking they don’t need the items,” he said.

“This Christmas is going to be very tough because people are going to pull the belt in.

“They say it every year but this year I truly believe it. People might still spend money on Christmas food but when it comes to expensive gifts, things are tougher.”

Situated towards the end of St Giles’ Street is Vintage Guru, a business well-known for its award-winning window displays – and they have customers who travel from London and Brighton to frequent the shop.

As they do not buy products from overseas, are very conscious about their electricity use, and a lot of their products are made from recycled and upcycled materials in Northampton, co-owner Matthew Lewis is hopeful about Vintage Guru’s future.

He said: “We have to be really cautious in the way we operate and approach our use of electricity.

“We’re quite a sustainable company as we work on really small scales and have always been resourceful in terms of our usage and budgets.

“We’re not driven by making huge amounts of profit – we’re more about making a community for people to enjoy something and bring them back to the high street.

“As long as we can maintain our ethos by being as sustainable and community-orientated as possible, hopefully it will see us through.”

Matthew believes the pandemic has encouraged consumers to support independent and local businesses, as they have become more aware of the importance of keeping things “homegrown that give back to the town”.

The businesses along St Giles’ Street may know their worth and the unique value they add to the town centre, but it is clear they are remaining realistic about what is to come and not taking anything for granted.

As Liz Truss’ plan to cut energy bills has now been rolled out, it is a waiting game to see whether this will help businesses as well as the Government hopes.

If you are a Northampton business owner and want to share how the cost of living crisis is having an impact as part of our Back Our Businesses campaign, you can email [email protected].