Cambridge CBD
Cambridge retailers have weathered the toughest year since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
Kelly Bouzaid
But the coming of warmer spring weather has seen a slight lift in foot traffic, according to Chamber of Commerce chief executive Kelly Bouzaid, and the beginning of a recovery.
“It’s been a hard couple of months for our retailers,” Bouzaid said.
Paper Plus Cambridge owner Hamish Wright said this year has been the hardest since the GFC.
The financial collapse of 2007 to 2009 was a worldwide economic meltdown triggered by a collapse in the United States’ housing market and reckless financial practices. It led to mass unemployment, bank failures, and the deepest global recession since the Great Depression.
Paper Plus Cambridge owner Hamish Wright says this years has been tougher than the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009. Photo: Chris Gardner
“The GFC was a doddle compared to this,” Wright said. “People are not spending. It’s the whole needs verses wants. You want a book, or you want a toy, but do you really need it?”
Wright said business had started to pick up in his Victoria Street store with the onset of spring and the arrival of warmer weather.
“I am still optimistic.”
So much so that he has just signed a deal to purchase Cambridge Office Products.
Footloose Shoes owner operator Debbie Simes had a similar experience in her Duke Street store.
“There has been a slightly noticeable lift,” she said. “We just hope that it continues.
“It’s been really tough in the last 12 months.”
Footloose Shoes owner operator Debbie Simes has seen a slight lift in business this month. Photo: Chris Gardner
Simes, who has owned and operated the shop for 15 years, responded to plummeting trade by cutting casual staff and spending more time in the shop.
“You end up working in the business rather than working on it.”
Mindful of the cost-of-living crisis, the Cambridge community had been supportive by shopping local where it could, Simes said.
“A lot of people are conscious that they need to support local businesses.”
Odell Home co-owner Fiona Massey is concerned with how easy it is to find a parking space in town. Photo: Chris Gardner
Odell Home co-owner Fiona Massey, who began trading in 2020, said the past two years had been difficult for the business she runs with her mother.
“I don’t think we have traded a normal year,” she said.“It’s been tough. I don’t think there’s one industry that has not been affected.”
Customers often celebrated being able to park directly outside the store, which Massey saw as a problem.
Business had started to improve this month.
“It’s given me a little glimmer,” she said.
Congestion in Cambridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
