New business emporium supports independent shops in Berkhamsted and Tring recoup Christmas sales

It is an opportunity for businesses to show their brand’s products or services
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A new collective platform has been launched to help local high street business owners and smaller independents crack lockdown and overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

The Vendary offers a look behind the many brands of Christmas gifts, interiors, plants, crafts, food and wine, whilst encouraging shoppers to spend their money locally.

Brainchild of local businesswoman, Jan Foo, The Vendary is a professionally-filmed daily live show streamed across Facebook and Instagram.

The Vendary is a professionally-filmed daily live showstreamed across Facebook and InstagramThe Vendary is a professionally-filmed daily live showstreamed across Facebook and Instagram
The Vendary is a professionally-filmed daily live showstreamed across Facebook and Instagram

Local retailers across Berkhamsted, Tring, St Albans and west Herts can book a half hour slot, completely free of charge, to demonstrate, talk about, show off, and display what they do.

It is an opportunity for them to show their brand’s products or services, what they do and how they do it.

Think online shopping channel, like QVC. However, there is nothing hard sell about The Vendary which instead, aims to share the person behind the business and to offer a ‘sneak peek’ behind the brand.

The crew, consisting of Jan Foo - CEO, Business Coach and UK Ambassador at The Top Person International Business and Global Hub - and Steve Butcher, MD of Universal Event Production Ltd and promoter behind the popular ‘Chilfest’, have been filming a local business every day throughout lockdown, in a local studio in Pitstone.

Jan said: “Having owned high street premises myself in the past, I was all too aware that traditionally, November and December’s calendar would have been chock full of opportunities for local business owners to recoup some of the losses they have faced this year.

"But of course, all that has been taken away from them, and us!”

Independent shops, restaurants and cafes will have to change how they attract new customers and build customer loyalty by looking for new creative opportunities.

One way of doing this is to take their bricks and mortar businesses online and to leverage the power of social media. However, this can be expensive, time consuming and challenging, as not everyone knows where to start.

Jan added: “Collaboration is how we work as a human race, so the concept of a collective business platform made good sense to me, and The Vendary was born.

"Turning to the social media networks to boost sales, we wanted to create a visual platform that was unique, entertaining and creative.

“We’re asking everyone to watch the shows on Instagram and Facebook and to support these brilliant business owners and buy, buy, buy!

"We have filled all of our slots up to the 20 December with such a great variety of different business sectors, so there will be plenty of gifts to choose from.

“As small business owners, we can’t control the wider economic forces at play, but collectively we can work together to boost sales, improve cashflow and strengthen customer loyalty, while contributing to the resurgence of localism that will help keep them afloat.”

With creativity and hard work, each independent face on the high street can add value to their neighbours by developing a mutually beneficial business alliance.

It is this marriage of quality, service, uniqueness and community that will help bring more customers back to the high street and encourage them to stay there.

For more information and to book a future slot, visit @TheVendary on Instagram - www.instagram.com/thevendary - or contact Jan Foo directly via email: [email protected].