Gloucestershire goes for growth with retail led exports

Last week, GFirst LEP hosted a visit for four senior representatives from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), to showcase how Gloucestershire can lead the way with retail led exports.

Last week, GFirst LEP hosted a visit for four senior representatives from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), to showcase how Gloucestershire can lead the way with retail led exports.

The group were particularly interested to learn first-hand the exporting experience from Joshua Taee, Director of Huffkins, a leading bakery and tea rooms in the Cotswolds, whose major exports of fruit cakes to Canada and Germany are much in demand with growing interest from the Far East. Joining Joshua was Rachel Vieira from the University of Gloucestershire, who explained the importance of developing specialist skills in retail with the launch of a new degree course in Retail Management, starting in September.

Appointed by the Government as the national Retail Pathfinder for the second year running to work proactively on a national basis, GFirst LEP and its Retail Sector group have been exploring ways to identify how retail growth can be supported at a local level. Amongst its successes is the development of a free Retail Toolkit which is being currently used by Cirencester to increase visitor footfall, shortly to be followed by the Forest of Dean District Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council.

Hosted by Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair of GFirst LEP, the meeting allowed senior policy advisers from UKTI to learn how the LEP has been working closely with the Cirencester Community Development Trust (CCDT) and the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), to make the town even more attractive and vibrant using the Toolkit.

Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair, GFirst LEP said: “We are thrilled to share the success story of the LEP’s Retail Toolkit with UKTI representatives and to discuss the role our Retail Sector Group is playing in not only strengthening the local economy but also influencing retail practices at a national level.

The retail sector has an important role to play in the economy both at a local and national level, particularly for export-led growth. For this reason, it is critical that we collectively share best practice and insights and work more closely with LEPs across the country and with UKTI to boost the retail sector and the huge potential that it offers for exporting.”

Working closely with UKTI to develop retail propositions and innovative ways of boosting retail exports from Gloucestershire, the Sector Group is also investigating how new innovative technologies can be introduced in the high street to increase footfall and sales.

For more information about the Retail Toolkit which is free to use, please visit this page.