Homeware store boss Liz Lawson has furloughed half of her 65 staff
‘Fund will save firms’
Liz Lawson is the fourth generation to run 116-year-old Lawsons, which has four Devon homeware stores.
It usually has an annual turnover of £2.8 million, but has had to close its Totnes and Plymouth shops to the public.
Liz, 52, has furloughed half of her 65 staff and received £100,000 from the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.
She has increased phone and online orders from 20 to 100 a day, but is making just a third of her normal takings.
Each year she spends £75,000 on advertising, but some papers and magazines she uses have stopped printing.
She says: ‘I think this fund will save some businesses. We could be heading into the worst recession in 100 years. An advert in a national paper could drive the lifeblood back into our firm.’
James Wilthew set up The Afghan Rug Shop five years ago after he discovered the products while serving in the RAF
‘Ads are key to survival‘
James Wilthew set up The Afghan Rug Shop five years ago after he discovered the products while serving in the RAF.
Now he says that free advertising with the Daily Mail could prove crucial to the success of his business.
While on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, James, 43, bought several rugs, and his shop now sells coverings made by people in the region for anything from £100 up to £20,000.
But when the lockdown came, he was forced to close his premises in Hebden Bridge, W. Yorks, and furlough his three part-time staff.
James says: ‘The Mail’s scheme is a fantastic idea — marketing is now going to be crucial to our future.’
Debi Mackenzie and husband Ronald run Cruise Loch Ness
‘It would be a big boost’
Cruise Loch Ness has been taking tourists on boat trips around the Scottish landmark for 52 years.
But Debi Mackenzie, 43, and husband Ronald, 48, fear for the business’s future and say the Daily Mail’s advertising fund could prove a ‘lifeline’ for them.
The couple take up to 1,000 passengers a day on 50-minute tours of the loch and the business usually achieves an annual turnover of around £2 million.
But most of Debi and Ronald’s customers are international tourists, and with travel bans in place, their takings dropped to such an extent that the couple closed the business a week before lockdown.
Says Debi: ‘When we do get up and running we want to reach as many domestic travellers as possible and the Mail is read by a lot of people — it would give us a real boost.’
Hellen Stirling-Baker runs Small Stuff, an ethical shop for babies
‘A brilliant opportunity’
Hellen Stirling-Baker says advertising in the Daily Mail could ‘future-proof’ her business.
Hellen, 33, set up Small Stuff, an ethical shop for babies and small children, in 2018, after finding it difficult to source sustainable toys and clothes for her son Rafe, four (pictured with her).
The shop, in Sheffield, South Yorks, makes an annual turnover of around £40,000. But approaching lockdown, the mother-of-one’s sales were down to half of what they were before Hellen had to close the shop to protect customers.
She says that the Daily Mail advertising fund is one of the few schemes offering hope for the future — not just covering expenses. ‘This initiative is a brilliant opportunity for businesses like mine to get some national attention and this could really help to future-proof us.’