Shop owners say they have had to cut back on stock and staff in order to pay their bills as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
Small business owners in Wales and England claim they are having to switch to stocking non-branded items in order to stay afloat, as rising bills means customers are no longer buying more expensive household brands.
Nine in ten British small business owners are concerned about the rising cost of living, according to the Business Leader.
Tasneem Qusir, co-owner of Carnetown Stores grocer in Abercynon, South Wales, said: “Bills are rapidly increasing along with the cost of stock and it’s a struggle trying to keep the business afloat.” She said that they are having to “mostly stock affordable brands as branded items have increased in cost so much leaving us with pennies of profit”. She said that her and her husband are not earning “minimum wages” as they have to put it “back into the business to afford the bills” and that they are working “14 hours every single day in the year”, as they cannot afford to “lessen hours or have a day off.’
Mohammed Saleem, owner of Pontllanfraith store in Blackwood, South Wales said that he owns two shops and bills have “doubled”, and this has made him have to “make staff redundant” as he can’t ‘afford to pay staff’. He also said that he has had to sell his shares of a new takeaway shop as he couldn’t afford to “run three businesses anymore” because he couldn’t “afford the bills or hire staff” and that he is “devasted” that it came to this.
Abdul Rehman, owner of an independent store in Huddersfield, meanwhile said he too was having to stock “cheaper and more affordable” brands, as some more popular brands have soared by as much as 53% in price.
We can see that all small businesses are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis across Wales and England with owners reporting that they are struggling to make ends meet with paying bills and with stock, this also resulted with making staff redundant. Which have cost people to lose their jobs.