North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has today championed the services local shops provide to communities when speaking at the launch of the 2022 Welsh Local Shop Report.
Providing the opening words for the online launch, Mr Isherwood referred to the contribution local shops make to the Welsh economy and emphasised how vital their services are to local communities.
He said:
“I thank ACS, the Association of the Convenience Stores, for inviting me to record a few opening words for this online launch of their “Welsh Local Shop Report 2022”. Unfortunately the initial plans for me to provide brief opening and closing comments from the podium at the Senedd launch event for this report originally planned for this evening were overtaken by events, but I understand that ACS hope to have a drop in event in the summer.
“As the report states ‘there are almost 3,000 convenience stores in Wales, providing essential groceries and services to their customers, employing over 25,000 people with local, flexible jobs, and making a positive difference in their communities.The Welsh Local Shop Report highlights the importance of these stores and acts as a snapshot of the work that retailers and colleagues have done throughout the last year’.
“These stores contribute £619m in Gross Value Added – GVA – to the Welsh economy, and £35m in annual investment, providing over 25,000 jobs. Convenience stores provide an expanding range of services, including bill payments, free-to-use ATMs and Post Offices.
“The average customer visits their local shop 2.4 times per week. 83% of independent convenience retailers engaged in some form of community activity in the past year and consumers rank convenience stores as the business service with the most positive impact on their local area. They play an essential role for many consumers who need the services they offer close to their homes.
“I am therefore delighted to support this report launch and look forward to hearing more about it, knowing that it delves deeper into how retailers are emerging from the pandemic and the business investments being made into services, digital and energy-efficient technologies.”
A full copy of the report is available here: https://bit.ly/WelshLSR2022