During her years at Toolbox Marketing our Marketing & Brand Director Kim Dodd has loved being able to support independent businesses to grow within our shopping centres. “It is a fantastic feeling to be able to watch as their dreams come true and a privilege to see their passion to succeed.”
There is something truly special about walking into a store where the owner has poured their heart and soul into every detail, from the carefully curated products to the warm and welcoming atmosphere. Independent tenants bring a unique energy to our shopping centres, offering originality, passion, and a personal touch that you simply don’t find in larger chain stores.
For independent shop owners, their business is more than just a job – it’s their livelihood. Every decision they make, every product they stock, and every interaction they have with customers is driven by their dedication and determination to succeed. They are not just selling products; they are sharing their dreams and building a community around their brand.
Independent tenants play a crucial role in shaping the character and vibrancy of retail spaces. Supporting them benefits not only the entrepreneurs themselves but also the wider community. When we choose to shop local, we help sustain jobs, foster economic growth, and create a diverse and thriving shopping environment.
I have recently spoken with a few of the independent business owners in our destinations to shine the spotlight on them and learn more about their journeys. Their stories are a testament to the resilience and creativity that make independent retailers such a vital part of our shopping centres – let’s take a closer look.
NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS
Owner: Daniel Ludlow and Violeta Martin Garcia
Location: Castle Quay, Banbury and a second concession store on Sheep Street, Bicester
Trading: 6 years in May
Tell me about your business: We are a low packaging refill shop. We buy all of the household essentials in bulk, our customers come armed with bags, tubs and bottles, and refill what they have with what they need.
What inspired you to start your business? Having seen where so much of our waste ends up whilst away travelling, we started to look at ways to reduce the waste we generate at home. Frustrated that there weren’t any local packaging free shops, we decided to just start one ourselves.
If your business had a theme song? “The 3 R’s” by Jack Johnson, it’s literally a song about reducing your waste, reusing things you have and recycling!
What’s one thing customers might not know about running an independent business? You don’t necessarily need to have loads of capital behind you, which is just as well as we started out on our local market, and used our meagre savings to buy stock. As we sold the stock, we bought more and more until we could fill a shop. We’ve never taken a loan, and we’re proud that we’ve managed to grow our business without financial riskIf you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start their own business, what would it be? – Go and meet other business owners around the town, talk to your potential customers, and work out what makes your idea better than everyone else’s. Seek out constructive feedback, good and bad, and make a clear plan of what you want your brand to stand for.
BELLE’S OF BOLTON
Owner: Michelle Oxford
Location: Market Place, Bolton
Trading: Since 2018
Tell me about your business: Belle’s Of Bolton is a beautiful little gift shop, offering gifts and accessories to the people of Bolton. I liked to think of my shop as a little slice of sunshine and happiness on the high street.
What inspired you to start your business? I started my business after working at craft fairs for many years. I made children’s jewellery and accessories, but it became harder and harder to maintain a living as the craft fair market became saturated. I took a leap of faith in 2018 with very little money but a huge amount of determination to succeed. Luckily, I found my first outlet who gave me an opportunity to start a ‘pop up’ on a temporary basis and it started from there.
If your business had a theme song? Candi Staton, “You Got The Love”
What’s one thing customers might not know about running an independent business? There’s not ‘one’ thing people don’t realise about running an independent shop – there are LOTS! If I had to summarise, it would be that your job role isn’t just ‘shop owner’- it’s shop owner, sales assistant, cleaner, maintenance, accountant, manager, marketing, customer outreach, PR…the list goes on!
If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start their own business, what would it be? You have to have resilience and an unshakeable belief in yourself and your business. You also have to be a people person! A fundamental part of your business is reflected in your daily interactions with your customers.
GOPLAY KIDS
Owner: Shafaq Qureshi
Location: Swansgate Shopping Centre, Wellingborough
Trading: March 4th 2025
Tell me about your business: GoPLAY kids is an eye-catching educational Play cafe. My eldest daughter is the bright individual who came up with the name. The cafe is designed around role play, with individual pods consisting of different role play settings. The aim is to encourage children to learn and develop through role play. The cafe area overlooks all the pods as which eases the minds of the parents/carers and gives them a chance to socialise or work while overseeing their little ones having fun!
What inspired you to start your business? As a mum of three my children are my biggest inspiration. They inspired me to start GoPLAY kids and they are the ones who keep me motivated. I want to show them that their dreams can be achieved with hard work and motivation. So when they grow up they are not afraid to follow their dreams.
If your business had a theme song? Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” because there is no better place to be with your loved one than GoPlay kids.
What’s one thing customers might not know about running an independent business? It’s a 24/7 job where you are constantly thinking about how to improve yourself and your business. Even when customers leave the play session happy I always think, could there have been room for improvements?
If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start their own business, what would it be? My one bit of advice would be don’t be afraid to negotiate deals on your terms!
FITSZOO LTD
Owner: Max Brown
Location: Regent Arcade Shopping Centre, Cheltenham
Trading: Fitszoo was founded in a spare room back in 2018. To start with we sold mostly on Depop, where we received over 200 five-star reviews, but also on market stalls and to friends. In September 2022 we opened our first store in the Old Market area of Hereford and in November 2022 due to popular demand opened a second store in Regent Arcade in Cheltenham.
Tell me about your business: We supply premium second-hand clothes from the early 2000s all the way back to as early as the 70s. All of our items are individually selected in order to provide both the highest quality garments and selection of vintage items for our customers. In Fitszoo, we have something for everyone, providing an array of different styles from streetwear, surfwear and workwear to classic football shirts and more.
What inspired you to start your business? It was mainly inspired by my love for vintage clothing. I also noticed a gap in the market and felt it was an opportunity to prove to myself that I could start a business and make it work whilst juggling school and University.
If your business had a theme song? “Kids” by MGMT (this was a hard question to answer but it’s a great song and one we play in the shop all the time.)
What’s one thing customers might not know about running an independent business? One thing our customers might not know about running an independent vintage clothing business is that sourcing unique, high-quality items often takes a lot of time and effort. Many of the items are 20, 30, or even 40 years old and often arrive in varying conditions. We make sure to provide the highest quality item possible to our customers and therefore spend large amounts of time prepping items before they can be sold to the standard which we pride ourselves on at Fitszoo, which consequently may have an impact on both pricing and availability.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start their own business, what would it be? The best advice I could give would be to make sure you don’t doubt yourself. Everyone is capable of more than they expect it’s just about attacking each challenge that comes your way with the correct attitude. Not everything works out in life, especially in the business world, but you won’t get anywhere without trying. You’ll learn a lot along the way no matter the outcome.
ARROWHEADZ
Owner: Paula & Cameron Clarke (mother & son)
Location: Castle Quarter, Norwich
Trading: We opened our doors on 31st August 2024, so we are just into our 8th month of trading.
Tell me about your business: ArrowHeadz aka Destination Darts is a bit of a hybrid, which is our USP and why our customers seem to enjoy being in our space so much. We are a darts equipment retail store first and foremost, but we serve as a social and leisure hub too, with darts lanes available to rent by the hour. We also offer a personalised darts fitting and try before you buy service, using our huge selection of demo darts.
What inspired you to start your business? Cameron was inspired to start the business after being frustrated at buying so many sets of darts online without the opportunity to hold them and ideally throw them first. He also felt there was a market for a playing venue which wasn’t a pub, because so many younger people are now coming into the sport. He felt (and he was right!) that is we picked a convenient and easily accessible location, gave it a smart and aspirational branded look and made it a fun place to be with a great vibe (music etc) for players of all ages to hang out, then we’d have a winning formula that would lure people away from buying online.
What keeps us going is that at the moment we are so busy we can’t afford to slow down! We’ve also been hugely encouraged by the feedback and reviews we get from customers and it’s made us more sure than ever that our business model is spot on and we can roll it out into a small independent chain. We are currently working on our second shop, due to open in summer 2025 in Scotland.
If your business had a theme song? Pitball ‘Greenlight’ – which is Luke Littlers walk out music!
What’s one thing customers might not know about running an independent business? One thing customers might not know about running a retail business is just how much goes on behind the scenes that they don’t see on the shop floor. Selling stock to the customer is the easy bit. The stock management, accounting and admin is relentless and complicated. You can’t take your eye off the ball for a moment or you end up in a real pickle! It’s much harder and more time consuming than any of us could have imagined and we have a huge, newfound respect for all independent retailers now we have an insider’s perspective on it.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start their own business, what would it be? As for advice, it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing but I’d say ask yourself ‘what is our USP?’ If you don’t have one then you are in for a tough ride. There are no guarantees of success but you’ll have a far better chance with a great, original idea that fills a genuine gap in the market.
Ready to Start Your Own Business?
The passion and resilience of independent business owners are what make our shopping centres so special. Their dedication, creativity, and willingness to take risks bring diversity and vibrancy to our high streets, creating an experience that simply can’t be replicated by large chains.
If you’ve been thinking about starting your own business but aren’t sure where to begin – especially when it comes to marketing – we would love to help. With years of experience supporting independent businesses, we can offer guidance on how to position your brand, connect with customers, and make your business stand out. Get in touch, and let’s turn your vision into reality!