One of Solihull’s newest businesses has predicted independent shops will flourish post-Covid after enduring “the hardest year.”
Loki Wines owner Phil Innes has recently taken on the very unit in Knowle where he did his training as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
He was speaking of his hopes for smaller stores as large sections of the high street have reopened for the first time in 2021.
Lockdown restrictions – which have shut many borough retailers for around three and a half months – were relaxed this week.
Mr Innes said it had been a “really, really tough” 12 months but believes the pandemic could actually bring more people back to smaller shopping areas and, crucially, to supporting local outlets.
“Looking to the future I feel quite positive about bricks and mortar retail,” said the 35-year-old, from Birmingham.
“People can come in, they can get some advice, they can discover something and speak to someone who is an expert in what they are talking about.”
And he believed that smaller businesses – both rooted in and spending money in the…
