A travel agent is fighting the corner for independent high street retailers after negative social media posts about the town’s shops following the closure of Marks & Spencer.
Richard Slater, owner of Henbury Travel, relocated his shop to larger premises on the same street as his old branch in Macclesfield this autumn, and is now located in a pedestrianised part of Chestergate.
After seeing negative comments on social media about the closure and relocation of Macclesfield’s M&S, with some suggesting the town centre was “dead” and all the shops “empty”, he decided it was time to take action.
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Out of 107 shops on Chestergate, the street on which he trades from, 100 are occupied, mostly by small independent traders.
Slater created a positive social media post and used it in response to any negative posts made on local community forums and social channels, encouraging other shopkeepers to repost it across their social channels.
The ‘Let’s turn a negative into a super positive’ post has since had more than 100 shares and 1,000 likes and led to a news piece on BBC TV’s North West Tonight programme.
Slater said: “When I moved premises I also received comments on our Facebook page which said things like “I wouldn’t bother”, “the town is dead”, and “you’re heading for failure”.
“The negative comments on social media about the closure of M&S upset me and other traders.
“The positive post on Facebook turned this situation into a positive and I did it so other traders could use the post on their websites and social pages.
“Our street has shops owned by the occupier or let out by local family landlords who have the right ethics to ensure businesses thrive by offering cost effective rents, and many of us also get small business rate relief.”
He said he knew of around 10 new businesses which have opened since 2019, adding: “Our street has gone back to the roots of a traditional high street.”