Publisher Con Crowley talks to local businesses to see how the dramatic events of the last three months are shaping our lives for the future.
Life is never going to be the same again – when Covid-19 swept the world at the beginning of 2020 things were set to change forever. Or were they?
Many businesses have had to change overnight to adapt to an audience locked down in their homes. Businesses have had to reinvent themselves in order to survive – shops became virtual; restaurants and pub takeaways; and a whole new culture of entertainment, learning, health and well-being sprang up online.
Some have positively flourished. Here is our snapshot of how they have fared.
A NEW brew
Nick Tydeman
The Big Smoke Brew Co. owns a chain of five pubs as well as a brewery in Esher producing craft beers. “As devastating a blow it was to close our pubs, we quickly realised that we needed to move fast to look after our staff and keep the brewing side of our business operational,” says the company’s Rich Craig.
“Our management team spent a stressful week looking at ways that we could continue to work while our brewery staff completely overhauled their routines to focus exclusively on canning.”
It set up a home delivery service using pub staff as drivers and for picking orders, which was soon delivering beer, wine, snacks, locally produced coffee and BBQ boxes to homes within a five-mile radius of the Sandown brewery. Online orders shot up from 188 in the previous 12 months, to more than 600 a week.
Future plans include an exclusive monthly subscription beer box and five-litre mini-kegs that fit in your fridge!
On your bike
One of the biggest winners has been pedal power. Despite the ban on cycling in Richmond Park, we’ve taken to two wheels as never before.
At Birdie Bikes in Hampton business has been brisk: “What we are finding is new people cycling and people returning to cycling and getting their old bikes out of the shed,” says Adam Phipps.
“We have been doing a lot of repair work for key workers and a lot more people are using cycling to commute now that they are returning to work.”
It is a view shared by Jamie Toy of the Kingston Cycle Exchange which recently moved into new premises. “We initially locked down the store however by mid-April it became very clear to us that cycling was booming.”
With a huge influx of new cyclists and a near-endless stream of people needing their bikes serviced, by the end of the month they were back full-time.
“Although the lockdown somewhat interfered with what we thought would be a bumper year with our new premises. We now expect summer to be a great time for cycling in Kingston and Richmond,” says Jamie.
What has been particularly encouraging for Adam has been the increase in children taking to cycling.
“With far fewer cars on the road, it has been great to see so many kids on bikes. Let’s hope we can keep the cars off the road and it continues.”
Coffee culture
Phippsters, a St Margaret's based home delivery coffee business was barely seven months old when the order came to stay at home.
It was a message which fitted perfectly with the new company’s business model. And according to Tina-Louise Foster, orders have surged since the crisis began.
She launched the business with her brother and sister-in-law last August on the premise that a good cup of coffee is not an experience to be rushed on the way to work.
“Our idea was to show how people could create their favourite blends easily at home,” she says.
Ironically, that is exactly what lockdown has achieved for them.
“Many have now become their very own home barista, realising that it’s not only fun but economical too.”
She says the important thing is that making a good cup of real coffee is as easy as instant. All you need is good cafetiere.
“Locally we deliver by bicycle so we have always been able to abide by the guidelines. We’ve also introduced a click & collect service where locals to TW1 can pick up their coffee orders within an hour from purchase.”
There will always be a place for the local café where you can enjoy a cafe socially with friends, she believes, but the idea that you can achieve the same experience at home is now very much embedded in the psyche of her growing band of loyal customers.
Staying at home
Where lockdown may be changing perceptions most is in the home. House arrest for the best part of three months has caused many of us to reassess how our living arrangements work.
Cube, a major home improvement company based in Teddington, acted swiftly by offering remote design consultancy appointments via Skype, FaceTime and Zoom.
“We’ve had some very good enquiries during lockdown,” says Cube’s Tristan Coates. “Certainly the value of improved home living has increased as a result of a sustained period of staying at home.”
So are people changing their perception of how they view their home?
“To some degree yes. Ground floor living space has always been desirable. A good way to achieve this is by locating your utility room on the first floor, freeing up ground floor space and saving trips up and downstairs for washing.
Working from home has had a major impact on how people live: “Home office working is the way forward. We’ve designed and constructed a number of home offices, internally and separate garden offices.”
Fit for purpose
It is not just our mental health that has been incapacitated by lockdown. The burgeoning UK fitness industry came to a grinding halt and nowhere was the impact felt more than in Surrey and south west London where health clubs shut their doors and exercise was confined to single households.
Once again, invention became the mother of necessity. Within one week of closing, founder of the Twickenham based cross-fit gym Blitz, Tim Hagon had moved all classes online using Facebook and Zoom.
“Facebook allows members to watch coaches do a workout and follow them. Classes are live at 8 am every day and are then available for members to watch at a time that suits them,” he says.
The Zoom classes allow members to retain the sense of community as they can see and talk with fellow members, which Tim says is so important. It’s also ensured that two-thirds of members are still financially supporting the gym.
“This experience has shown the team how online can really add value to the membership – a community of like-minded people who are all in it together. They will take these lessons and make the experience even better when the gym finally re-opens,” says Tim.
High Street happiness
We are blessed on our patch for having so many independent retailers on our high streets. Life on the high street can be challenging, but a community spirit has emerged with small traders reinventing themselves. Indeed, there are many who think that the lockdown may actually bring a welcome fillip to the sector.
The Art Agency is a small independent art gallery on Esher High Street which has been in business for nine years. Sales traditionally have come via footfall and art fairs, but thanks to a grant from Elmbridge Council, the agency launched a new e-commerce website earlier in the year.
“We spent the first two weeks of the lockdown making sure our stock was up to date online and creating activity to move ourselves up the rankings when anyone searched for keywords related to artwork. This seems to have paid off as we are now regularly receiving enquiries and making sales via the website,” says the agency’s Alison Ramsay.
Although the gallery has been shut, the shop windows provided a good opportunity to reach local people walking and cycling past on their daily exercise sessions. “Usually Esher High Street is predominantly a drive-through route,” says Alison. “We started popping in every couple of weeks to change the display and have sold several pieces.”
A new online Art Visualiser app enables people to try painting on their own wall, and the gallery offers free UK delivery: “People are keen to buy things for their homes and indeed, to shop more locally.”
Hypnotized online
The wellbeing of the nation has been the centre stage of this crisis, yet ironically it is the health sector that has been the most tricky to operate because of social distancing.
Mental health, in particular, has had to fundamentally change the way it operates, with face to face meetings and counselling sessions replaced by video conferencing.
For East Sheen-based psychotherapist Birgitta Ronn it has even stretched to online hypnotherapy.
“One of the amazing aspects of working online with clients has been an added sense of connection and intimacy due to the fact that they are sitting in their homes, in their safe space, rather than in my clinic.”
She sends the client a relaxing music track in advance and when they are ready for hypnosis they simply lay down in their sofa or sit comfortably in a chair and switch on the music.
“I then lead them into hypnosis whilst still seeing them on the screen. All they need to do is listen to my voice. I ring a soft bell when it is time to come out of the trance and we end the session on a high note as they are relaxed and comfortable.”
