We are blessed with many choices of where to buy goods and services throughout the City, with a plethora of businesses large, small and micro offering a vast range of diversity, and because their business is so important to them a warm welcome and great customer service.
The Retail sector offers everything from small corner shops that are open all hours and seem to sell everything one could need, to larger shops, departmental stores, and supermarkets. Because competition is strong in the high street many local retailers offer a great deal more variety at extremely competitive prices. When buying anything from food to motorcars the ability to feel the quality is so important, why else would a motor dealership offer a test drive? For people who like buying fresh the local shops in the high street will often offer the freshest produce at the best prices, and they will not quibble if someone only wants a small quantity.
Collectively local businesses employ far more people than the bigger firms, and every firm needs to generate profits in trying times but keeping local people in work makes good sense.
Service sector companies offer the same service as anyone else, a solicitor in the City is as professional as one many miles away, a plumber in Leicester, an Accountant, IT Professional and so on do much the same things but being local they do understand local conditions and they know their way around your home town.
Local providers over the years have suffered greatly through the pressure applied by the mega corporations and multi nationals, many have disappeared. However, those that have survived have become more efficient, more adaptable, more professional and are much quicker to diversify. Buying local means that one is dealing with a local face, an identifiable person who represents the seller unlike impersonal faceless organisations who tend to treat retailing as a production line in which customers and staff alike are part of a numbers game. With local supplier’s ones, can seek redress face to face if things are not as they should be, because the local dealer values your business. When one’s name is over the door, it tends to make one keener to care for customers properly.
Profits from local businesses remain in the City, many of the ‘major’ retailers run their finances overseas to reduce the impact on turnover and increase profits.
The carbon foot print of a local green grocer who buys his/her stock in the wholesale market is much smaller than that of a mighty corporation that flies out of season produce half way around the world so that shoppers can buy straight runner beans. Buying local means that the supply chain is shorter and the impact on the environment is less damaging.
Buy Local makes sense from every perspective because if you don’t use it you lose it.
The Best of Leicester strongly supports Buy Local in support of the very best of local businesses and the community at large.
Local Businesses may be located using the Business Directory of The Best of Leicester.
