The decline of the high street and independent retail is an issue that weighs heavily on the UK, as grassroots traders often lose money and shut shop just as quickly as they open for business.
However, with recent research, and examples available here in Nottingham, there’s a case to be made for stallholder markets as a saviour of independent businesses, providing that reliable sense of community and authenticity in shopping that so many of us look for today. Assistant Editor Caradoc Gayer takes a look at Nottingham’s history of markets, and how it could serve as an example for today.
There’s nothing quite like a good stallholder market. Visiting one, not only do we discover products and food, sold with love and care by local businesses, but they’re also one of the best, millennia-old ways of getting out of the house and connected with our local community. Whether we’re catching up with a mate down the road who sells handmade wooden animals in their spare time, or just taking in sights, smells and sounds, we always get a good feel for local goings-on. Despite the adversity independent retail is currently experiencing, the growing popularity of markets is something to feel good about.
This popularity is borne out by the stats: in 2021, the national turnover from UK stall and market traders hit the stratosphere (£741 million) compared to what it was in 2011 (£256 million). 2023 could also be safely labelled as ‘the year of clothing stalls’, which grew in market value by 26.5%, while clothing superstores only grew by %2. There’s definitely a growing appetite for these places, manifesting in greater footfall.
Sherwood Vegan Market is one event that perfectly fits that theory. Since its inception in 2021, founder and facilitator Adrian Baghat has seen the market draw swathes of visitors from all over Notts each month.
“Because I have the market next to my shop, it brings in a lot of customers, which works really well for me, as it works well for other traders in Sherwood,” says Adrian, who runs The V Spot, an all vegan shop in Sherwood high street. “It’s one of those things that benefits everyone, because traders have somewhere to do their business cheaply, and the local community gets to have somewhere to go for nice food and to meet friends. Sherwood gets money from the rental and I make money from organising it all. People are making livelihoods and also having really nice experiences.”
Adrian’s herbivore-focused-fête is part of a storied history of markets in Nottingham. From the mid 1800s Sneinton Market, home of LeftLion, was a pot market: providing space for traders to sell second hand clothing, furniture and crockery. After its revamp in 1900, the site became a close-knit community of friends and families, putting local traders and bigger wholesalers on a level playing field.
In the latter half of the 20th century, Victoria Centre Market became another noted spot for independent traders to prove their mettle. After Victoria Centre sprung up from the former site of Victoria Railway Station in 1971, the market was swiftly added, serving as a spot catering for nearly every need, from fruit and vegetables, to butcher’s produce, to a stall entirely dedicated to Elvis Presley. Those golden days are of course now behind us, as the market is set to be dissolved by the end of this month. Our hope at LeftLion is that the city council are helping traders to set up business elsewhere, so that they can revive their struggling business model.
It’s definitely more comforting when we can trust that what we’re buying comes from a place of care, and attention to detail
Nowadays, as we’re all aware, most towns and cities across the UK are overshadowed by that dark storm cloud labelled ‘the decline of the high street’. Expensive overhead costs, stemming from COVID aftershocks and the cost-of-living crisis, often means that community hubs and independent retailers run out of steam, and shut shop, while bigger, high street staples often move out the city centre to retail parks. The result is that many shops sit empty, silent and bereft of attention by customers or retailers.
Yet despite this decline, Adrian thinks that the appetite for fulfilling, interpersonal interactions with retailers hasn’t shrunk one bit. Regardless of how the internet and cost-of-living often swallow up most people’s dreams of opening an independent trade stall, there’s still a desire for them. The market ‘model’ therefore couldn’t be more relevant today.
“There’s definitely a cohort of people who want to shop local, and want that connection with the trader,” says Adrian. “A lot of my traders ask me if they can stock their products in my shop. I say, well you can, but it’ll be sold very differently. When you go to a market stall you’re talking to the person who made that product. You can hear their story. But if it’s next to one hundred similar products you don’t get to know anything about the creator.”
There’s also evidence that stallholder markets could play a big role in helping UK retail recover from the crises that it’s recently undergone. UK-based food alliance ‘Sustain’ conducted a case study on markets in Newcastle and London, noting that for customers who might have lost jobs or seen a drop in income, affordable food and other products are more important than ever. It’s definitely more comforting when we can trust that what we’re buying comes from a place of care, and attention to detail.
“That’s the beauty of markets: the connection to the production process, the trust that flows from that and the appreciation of the quality,” says Adrian, adding “if you pick, say, a pasty off the shelf of a big shop you judge it by the packaging. You don’t think about how some guy called Steve made it his kitchen. There’s certain people who definitely appreciate that experiential side.”
At the end of this month, visitors to Old Market Square will be able to enjoy this ‘experiential side’ to its full extent, when Ay-Up Market comes to town. Founded back in 2021, the event is intended to celebrate all the best parts of independent retail: creativity and innovation in all kinds of crafts, from wine-making to baking to jewellery and skincare.
Heading along and making the most of the event, perhaps we can all do our bit in revitalizing independent business in Nottingham. Supporting traders could potentially allow for further events like Ay-Up Market to take place, which in turn could reinject that atmosphere of close-knit community into the city, which many of us direly need today.
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