Community shops doingbetter than supermarkets

Launched by the Plunkett Foundation on June 20, the study says 2013 was another good year for the community shop sector in the UK.

Trading performance of established shops continues to grow with like-for-like sales growth at 1.9% outstripping that of major supermarkets for the third year running.

One local success story is Iden Stores and Post Office which is run as a community co-operative.

Plunkett head of frontline James Alcock said: “We’re continuing to see the community shop sector grow with 17 shop openings in 2013.”

Trading performance was “significantly better trading performance than all of the major retailers’ growth of like-for-like sales,” said Mr Alcock.

The report also highlights the resilience of community-owned village shops as the five-year survival rate of community shops is 99%.

Mr Alcock said this compared positively with estimations for UK businesses which have an estimated five-year survival rate of 45%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Turnover in 2013 varied from £6,500 to £1,103,653, averaging at £154,687 per shop, based on data from 163 shops that were prepared to share financial information.

This indicated a total collective turnover for the 309 community shops in the UK was in the region of £48m, said Mr Alcock.

Community Shops Fortnight celebrates the success of the communities across the UK that have saved their village shop through community ownership.