Robert Dyas owner and entrepreneur Theo Paphitis shared his ‘View from the top’ on the virtual stage at Spring Fair @Home this week (February 9).
Interviewed by journalist and broadcaster Sasha Qadri, Theo made an urgent appeal to the Chancellor for business rates reform, saying: “Mr Sunak, you have got to make sure that on March 3, you continue the business rates holiday and make sure that there is a proper review on how the Treasury collects retail tax.”
Reflecting on how the last six months have been for him personally as well as in business, Theo exclaimed: “It’s been pretty poo!” adding that most viewers would likely be of the same opinion. Turning his mind back to the first lockdown alone, he said: “Having to shut 320 stores with only 24 to 36 hours’ notice – was like cutting off your oxygen supply.” Besides Robert Dyas – which has stayed open as an essential hardware retailer during lockdowns – Theo’s retailing empire includes Rymans and Boux Avenue.
However, the former ‘dragon’ on Dragons’ Den quickly added: “These are unprecedented times and hopefully we’re coming to the end of it.”
Theo emphasised the dramatic expansion of ecommerce: “We’ve seen a five-year acceleration in six months.” For retailers to survive without having a digital presence Theo feels “will be difficult” as “online is here to stay”. He stated: “We have a mix of online and physical shops and without that we wouldn’t have survived.”
Echoing views held by fellow high street housewares retailers, Theo rammed home the necessity for a long overdue drastic overhaul of the business rates system: “Once the business rates are overhauled, I believe we will see a revitalised High Street that is more community-based.”
He used a ‘cake’ analogy to demonstrate how high street retailers are now losing larger slices of the ‘cake’ to online operators while having to pay the same in business rates.
When pressed for his opinion on the mooted 2% sales tax to be imposed on pure online players, Theo accepted it would generate income and “could work as an emergency measure for two or three years” until a replacement for business rates have been sorted.
“If nothing is done there will be a tsunami of shop closures,” he warned. “The key for retailers will be business rate reform; free market forces will take care of the rest,” he added.
A champion of small businesses – as evidenced by his long running Small Business Sunday initiative – Theo said he remains impressed by the passion of small business owners. Stressing that with 50% of UK GDP coming from SMEs, Theo underlined how they are “a very important part of the recovery.”
* Peter Cross, customer experience director of John Lewis was one of panel on a discussion of The Revival Forecast: What is the Future of Retail? (February 10).
* Presentations and product showcases from Spring Fair@Home (February 8-10) can be watched on demand by registered attendees, who can also discover new housewares in the Virtual showrooms. Visit https://www.springfair.com/spring-fair-home
* The next Spring Fair will take place February 6-10 2022.
Top: Theo Paphitis was the keynote interview at Spring Fair@Home on February 9, interviewed by journalist Sasha Qadri.
