Key Welsh members from the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) met with the Member of the Senedd for Cardiff Central, Jenny Rathbone last week at Albany Road Post Office in Cardiff,
The group highlighted the key services their shops provide and the challenges they face, and store owner Mark Dudden hosted the visit.
Dudden was joined by Vince Malone, a retailer based in Tenby in Pembrokeshire, and the Fed’s political engagement coordinator, Doug Oliver.
After the meeting, Dudden said: “Jenny and I have known each other for many years, and we’ve worked together on issues facing the Fed’s members - but I’d like to thank her for visiting the business once again.
“This is an important time for the Fed and its members and we discussed the challenges for small shops caused by retail crime and higher costs, as well as the Fed’s manifesto that we recently published ahead of the Senedd election on May 7 this year.
“I explained that though the shop and Post Office employs about 20 members of staff, higher costs including rising taxes and costs for security to deal with retail crime are making it harder to employ more staff.
“We discussed the important services provided by the Post Office - particularly access to cash - as well as the myriad other services it offers. We also spoke about the planned deposit return scheme (DRS) and how this could boost footfall for independent business, so long as the scheme is cost neutral.”
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