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Business guru's TV advice
He is not to everyone's taste – even nicknamed the Rottweiler by one ruffled West Yorkshire shopkeeper. But then Geoff Burch is a self-styled business guru out to get results, not make friends.
His approach is to provide honest and fresh advice to shopkeepers in a bid to boost business.
And that is exactly what the no-nonsense industry expert aimed to do when he stepped inside three struggling shops located in Leeds, Otley and Wetherby as part of the BBC's factual programme All Over The Shop.
Goggies Fine Linen & Gifts, Otley Apothecary and Bling Bling are all specialist outlets battling to make it on the high street.
Each signed up to the show filmed a year ago and finally broadcast into our living rooms over Christmas and New Year.
Now, three months on, Consumerwatch has tracked them down to hear if the king of motivation worked his magic in store.
All three agreed that the simple exterior and interior changes made a surprisingly big difference and all welcomed the free publicity drummed up by appearing on prime-time television.
But all stopped short at putting up prices, as suggested by Burch.
"The proof of the pudding is the fact that they are still trading," he said.
"In fact only one shop from the show closed after filming, and they were not willing to change their ways."
Burch set about to change attitudes, change interiors and change prices. The formula was simple and its implementation low budget.
He arrived loaded with advice but without a penny to spend, leaving the shopkeepers to do the hard graft. It earned him short shrift from some of the critics.
"I got slated for swanning in and stating the bleeding obvious," said Burch.
"It was the toughest report but it was also the most honest and accurate of all the reviews. Stating the bleeding obvious is the whole point.
"I aimed to see the business as a stranger might and give them some home truths.
"The production company gave me no forward warning (about the shops], lobbed me out of the back of a van and sat back to see if I would fail or win."
Some thought that he was too hard on the owners, but Burch says that he was a pussycat compared to other on screen hard men such as entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
"I had many a discussion with the production team as to whether I was too tough or too soft but it was me who was losing sleep over them," he said.
"I wanted them to survive. I wanted a victory."
BLING BLING
Bling Bling opened in a blaze of glory at Kirkgate Market in 2002 under the management of owners Linda and Roger.
Low prices and unusual goods – tiaras, body and costume jewellery – saw them quickly expand and take a high street unit on Vicar Lane.
But business flattened out and Linda and Roger were relieved when the All Over The Shop production team walked through the door. Filming was over three months, but time spent with Geoff Burch was no more than a few hours.
Simple changes were suggested and the pair roped in friends to get extra signage, stock shifted and new cabinets brought in.
Results were instant, but the biggest change followed their appearance on television.
"We suddenly had people travelling from Sheffield, York, Harrogate and they would mention that they had seen us on the show."
Was it worth it?
"Definitely. We couldn't have afforded to do any advertising. It also made us see things differently," said Linda.
"We never put our prices up – Geoff asked us – but everything else worked for us."
GOGGIES FINE LINEN AND GIFTS
As Wetherby deputy mayor and owner of Goggies Fine Linen & Gifts, Cindy Bentley had two very good reasons to appear on All Over The Shop.
"We were overstocked and I wanted some advice as to how I could get to grips with it all," she said.
"I also wanted publicity for Wetherby as there are plenty of great specialist shops here."
But when it came down to it Cindy was not ready to cut back on the piles of duvets and scatter cushions cluttering the tiny space.
"Geoff walked in and said get rid of all the duvets but I couldn't because they sell," she said.
"I know it looks messy but I have nowhere else to put them."
There was obviously a clash of personalities, with Cindy openly likening Burch to a Rottweiler on national television.
"No sane shopkeeper would turn down a visit from an industry expert, but I didn't get on with him," she said.
She point-blank refused to hike up her prices and is not certain that the upmarket look Burch suggested was the way forward.
"He made one or two comments that didn't go out on air that I took great exception to."
But did his advice help? "Oh yes. Visits to Wetherby have increased dramatically. Even this week I have had people coming in who I have never seen before saying that they saw us on TV."
OTLEY APOTHECARY
Bel Charlesworth said: "Like lots of small businesses we were starting to really struggle. When things start to go on a bit of a downturn it can be a bit of a downward spiral."
Qualified herbalist Bel, 34, brought natural health and beauty to the market town of Otley.
She had a great product, said Burch, but needed to widen the appeal while the shop lacked a certain "wow" factor.
"Some people might have found it difficult to take the criticism on board but I was aware that this was someone giving us expert help and we needed motivation," said Bel.
"He gave us lots of ideas. He was really inspiring. He thought we were on to a good thing but essentially we needed a kick up the bottom."
In just a few weeks Bel transformed the shop by repackaging products, redressing windows and generally making the shop more appealing and interactive with better labelling and samples for customers.
So did appearing on All Over The Shop make a difference to sales?
"Business could always be better but with our unique situation we are feeling quite confident," said Bel.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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