by Will Davies Recession-hit High Road businesses will get tailor-made training to help boost profits and save them from going under. Traders in Kilburn can sign up for expert training to bring them up to speed in key areas including cus
by Will Davies
Recession-hit High Road businesses will get tailor-made training to help boost profits and save them from going under.
Traders in Kilburn can sign up for expert training to bring them up to speed in key areas including customer service and visual merchandising.
The specialist trainers from Vision-On will then spend time with the businesses at their premises over a period of six weeks to offer on-site practical training and help.
More than 80 per cent of the businesses which have trained with Vision-On show increased revenue within a month, including businesses that were previously at risk of closing down.
Funded by Camden Council through its �6 million recession recovery fund, it is just one part of the council's plans to offer increased help for local businesses during the recession.
Cllr Keith Moffitt, leader of Camden Council, said: "Businesses have told us they wanted help with marketing, which is why we have launched the love your local high street campaign. But we also know that businesses want more support to build their own success. That's why we're funding this training, to help them through the recession."
In a bid to preserve Kilburn's vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, pubs and other businesses, Camden Council launched its Love Your Local High Street campaign last month.
Posters were put up at bus stops and on lamp posts the length of the High Road, in addition to adverts and online coverage, advertising a raft of schemes aimed at boosting Kilburn's beleaguered economy.
A 'Love Camden' guide was produced featuring Kilburn's and West Hampstead's many independent shops and other attractions across Camden.
It will be distributed to every home in the borough in September and will be available at tourism destinations across London in a bid to attract more visitors to the area.
Loyalty cards giving businesses the chance to run promotions are also in the pipeline.
In addition empty units will be filled with pop-up shops and spruced up to avoid the negative image of being boarded up and as a result provide new space for entrepreneurs or budding artists.
A pop up shop will soon be opening in Kilburn High Road.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here