Coronavirus and it's impact on small independent businesses: Frankie and Johnny's Cookshop.

I have recently interviewed Jo Asquith, the co-owner of Frankie and Johnny's Cookshop to understand how the coronavirus has impacted her business during the current situation and in the future.

Frankie and Johnny's Cookshop is situated on York's Bishopthorpe (Bishy) Road which in 2015 won "Britain's best high street" award. They are "the shop for people who love to cook and bake, who want to find quirky and inspiring gifts and who want to send cards to their friends and families from one of the best selections in the area." Thanks to their wide range of products and excellent customer service, they won the "Best Retail Newcomers" at the 2020 Housewares Innovation Awards.

Question 1: How have you adapted your business to the current situation?

"We placed all our staff on furlough at the start of lockdown, and are really proud that we have been able to top up the government funding so that all staff have received 100% of their wages. We have taken the unexpected time to relaunch our website, giving it a much needed update. We are planning to reopen on the 15th June in line with government guidance. We have also taken the opportunity to repaint the shop and reorganise stock ready for when we can re-open. We will have in place a hand sanitiser unit for customers to use on entry to the shop and will operate a one-way system. We are also arranging to have a glass partition installed around the till. Before lockdown we had introduced a cleaning system – sanitising high volume areas, door handles, card machines etc on a regular basis throughout the day - in the shop which we will continue when we re-open."

Thoughts: It is apparant that Jo and her husband Tim have not rested during the lockdown by implementing multiple changes to the website, decor and customer and staff safety measures for when the shop opens up on the 15th June. It is refreshing to see their enthusiasm towards their business and the community that they work in.

Question 2: How has the pandemic impacted your business and the your industry now and in the future?

"We have been closed since the 23rd of March. As we do not have an online shopping facility, we have not had any sales since the lockdown. We did qualify for a government grant which has been extremely useful and very much appreciated."

Thoughts: Since they have been closed most high street businesses, like Frankie and Johnny's Cookshop will likely see a 0% revenue stream due to the lack of customers. Jo highlights the importance of the Government grant and how useful it is for Jo in order to continuously support her business.

Question 3: What's your USP and how will it be affected?

"A lot of our customers like to browse in the shop. We have an eclectic mix of cookware, bakeware, gift, cards which people like to peruse and enjoy selecting. On re-opening we will have to limit the number of customers in the shop at any time which may impact on how a customer feels about the amount of time they spend in the shop whilst others are waiting outside to get in."

Thoughts: Jo indicates that their USP is the customers ability to explore the shop but because of measures they have had to take, there will only be a couple customers in the shop at a time. This reduces the number of customers they will receive, impacting sales and will be a patience testing method of shopping for customers as they would likely have to queue for a while to get in.

Question 4: What's your biggest concern and benefit of re-opening?

"We are really looking forward to welcoming back our staff and customers. Our biggest concern is that the virus is still active and we want to do everything we can to minimise the risk to our staff and customers."

Thoughts: Jo and Tim are both eager to get the shop open but not just for monetary reasons but they want to see their regular customers and staff again because it has been months since closure. This indicates that close personal relationships are a large benefit of running a shop in the heart of the community.

Question 5: How will your loyal and potential customers react to you re-opening?

"Throughout all the time on lockdown we have been receiving messages from customer asking when we are reopening. We have heard from other local shops which are open that people are asking when we will be re-opening which is very encouraging."

Thoughts: It is exciting to see that the community are still wondering when the shops would be open, demonstrating that they are keen and loyal customers.

Question 6: How long do you think it will take to get back to normal for your business?

"This will depend on how long the virus is around, the R rate, and government guidelines. Whilst we are limited to the number of customers we can have in the shop at any one time, the business will not be able to get back to normal."

Thoughts: This point illustrated by Jo shows the trepidation high street shops face when trying to understand and plan how to get their business back to normal. If the virus is around for a while then the business will have to adapt it's methods in order to deal with the possible infection.

Question 7: Do you forsee any long-term changes to the way you operate?

"Again, this will depend on government guidelines. We have a 33 page document on the guidelines we need to follow to re-open."

Thoughts: Businesses have been given a large 33 page document outlining how to get back in to the swing of things when they re-open. This will hopefully allow businesses to plan what to do but what everyone is hoping is that the virus goes away to things can get back to normal.

Question 8: Is there a silver lining/something valuable you have gained from this pandemic?

"We really appreciate our shop and are very keen to get it back open and to welcoming our staff and customers back."

Thoughts: Perhaps nothing valuable has been gained but the desire to welcoming her staff and customers back is high on Jo's list.

Question 9: Have you considered any marketing/advertising options before the pandemic and especially during it?

"We have kept in touch with customers through social media during the lockdown. We haven’t had any particular marketing or advertising campaigns as we felt that it would be frustrating for our customers as they would not be able to buy any of the products. We will have a concentrated effort in the days leading up to opening."

Thoughts: Social Media is a free and highly rewarding marketing platform that every business should use in order to update and talk to customers allowing for a better business experience. Jo demonstrates expert marketing knowledge by using this platform to communicate to their customers and has purposely decided to refrain from a marketing campaign because of fears that advertising their products would frustrate their customers as they can't sell anything at the moment.

Question 10: How well do you think the Government have communicated to you the changes inpolicies impacting your business? Is there anything they could have done better?

"Changing the rules for the grants had a big impact on us and over 3700 other small businesses. It meant that by raising the qualifying rates by 1p from £15000 to £15000.01, the government could save £55m in funding. We appreciate that the government had an enormous task to do in setting up these grants and they have been invaluable to us and to many other small businesses. However, changing the guidance with no explanation caused us many anxious days and weeks which could have been avoided. The rules/guidance in general are confusing. The messaging seems to change daily and there is no link up with the local council. This leaves businesses trying to understand and interpret what is needed hoping for the best, which isn’t ideal. There is also the added cost of buying screens, hand sanitisers etc."

Thoughts: This answer didn't really surprise me because the Government has received widespread condemnation as the poor handling of by Government by those in charge has led to mass confusion among business owners like Jo. The Goverment need to improve their communication skills and explanations so that small businesses can understand what the point is that they are trying to say and how to act on it. It is clear that the Government need to do more, expecially because of the way that they raised the qualifying rates by 1p from £15'000 to £15'001 meaning that the Government could save £55m in funding which will negatively impact 3700 other small businesses.

Question 11: Have you considered using the internet to sell your products at a time like this when people can't come into your shop?

"We did consider selling on the internet, but for now have come to the conclusion that we will remain a bricks and mortar store. We are very much about the experience customers receive when they visit our shop, something which is very hard to replicate online. We may visit this again in the future, but for now our focus is on reopening our shop as soon as possible."

Thoughts: It is fascinating to see that Frankie and Johnny's have decided to just trade from their shop and not on the internet because they think that it is less of an experience on the internet because the customers can't interact with the products. This is a brave business decision as the e-commerce industry is continuing to grow. However, Jo invisages that in the future, they may consider opening an e-commerce website which shows forward thinking.

Final thoughts: Frankie and Johnny's are an extremely community orientated business that thrives on one of York's finest high streets. The threat of the lockdown and pandemic have unequivocally thrown a spanner in to the works but based on the response from Jo, Frankie and Johnny's is well looked after and will prosper when the lockdown is eased and life returns back to normality.

Many thanks to Jo Asquith for participating in the interview.