Businesses Celebrate Revitalise Programme

A number of small businesses have participated in a celebration event for the 'Revitalise' programe at Belfast's City Hall.

The businesses participated in the initiative which is supported by Belfast City Council, Belfast City Centre Management and a number of private sector companies including Boots UK, M&S and Santander.

They took part in targeted workshops and received mentoring support and advice in areas which included financial management, business planning, visual merchandising, window display and shop space design, PR, marketing, sales and retail e-commerce development.

Congratulating the participants at City Hall today, Councillor Aileen Graham, Chair of the council's City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said: "I'm delighted to celebrate the achievements of all the retailers who took part in the Revitalise programme and want to recognise the important role they play in contributing to our local economy.

"Revitalise was designed for retailers who wanted one-to-one mentoring support to market and grow their business, implement changes or deal with particular challenges. Over the past 8 months, 30 SMEs received intensive mentoring in areas such as marketing, merchandising, PR, e-commerce and financial management to build sales, footfall and growth.

"Some independent retailers embraced social media for the first time and found it to be a cost-effective way to market their business and reach new audiences. Many also learned how to make small changes such as improving a window display and how that can have a big impact on bringing footfall into your business.

"We were delighted to see a large number of retailers participate in the programme from across the city ranging from hair and beauty businesses, women's boutiques and menswear shops, florists, restaurants, a locksmith, a phone repairer and a motorcycle business – all contributing to the vibrancy of the city." she added.

(MH)