Bournemouth Town Centre’s small, independent businesses were in the spotlight as the ‘Small Business Saturday’ tour came to town on Monday.
The Small Business Saturday campaign, now in its 12th year, kicked off with a national roadshow visiting and showcasing independent businesses across the UK, marking the countdown to the Small Business Saturday on December 7th.
‘The Tour’, supported by BT, set off in the Scottish Highlands in early November and will travel over 3,000 miles throughout November and visit 23 towns and cities across the UK.
At every stop the campaign team meet the people behind some of the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses, filming tour videos to share their unique stories and encouraging consumers to ‘shop local’ and support them – and on Monday November 25th they came to Bournemouth Town Centre.
Among those featured was 24-year-old Matt Simms, owner of Resneaked, a business he launched from his bedroom while at university, now selling pre-loved and brand-new exclusive clothes and trainers from his Westover Road store.
The tour team also visited Arcadia Escape Rooms in the heart of Bournemouth, founded by brothers Joe and George Carruthers earlier this year, and KH Jewels in Albert Road, specialists in custom made jewellery.
And they popped into Flirt Café in The Triangle, family run restaurant El Murrino in Old Christchurch Road, and Trove, a collective mall selling a vast selection of unique and novelty items, based in The Arcade.
Bournemouth Town Centre BID worked closely with the Small Business Saturday Tour Team, travelling around with them on Monday, with Chief Operating Officer Paul Kinvig also filming a video.
He said: “Small Business Saturday on December 7th is a brilliant campaign which has been banging the drum for the Uk’s small businesses for more than a decade, so we were thrilled to welcome them for the second year running and see Bournemouth Town Centre businesses getting involved.
