Horsham embraces Small Business Saturday shopping experience

As the UK celebrates Small Business Saturday on 7 December his year, Horsham will be alive with new business activity and great reasons to make the town a destination for your Christmas shopping.

Amidst the busy stalls and activities of the Christmas Market in Horsham town’s Carfax, young entrepreneurs from local schools will also be taking the opportunity to show off their company’s wares.

Enthusiastic students from Horsham, Crawley and Mid Sussex schools will be competing for Best Trade Stand as part of the national schools’ Young Enterprise competition for this area. Not only that, they will be looking to make some sales and a tidy profit from Horsham’s Christmas shoppers on the day.

The companies will receive advice about their displays and customer service skills from a local business owner, who will also judge the day’s competition. There is a £50 prize up for grabs for the Best Trade Stand.

Horsham District Council is also delighted to announce that it will be launching its popular Christmas Window Wonderland competition on Small Business Saturday this year.

Local independent traders across the whole of Horsham District are invited to take part in this Christmas themed display competition which creates a festive platform for businesses to showcase their goods and makes visits to our market towns and villages more enjoyable and rewarding for shoppers.

“It is so important to encourage entrepreneurial skills in young people and Young Enterprise has been delivering great projects for over 50 years.

“Many of our local small businesses have come from this background and they can vouch for the benefits this programme provides for school students. I wish all the companies lots of luck in the competition and in making plenty of sales on Small Business Saturday this year.

“I am also really pleased that we are taking the opportunity on Small Business Saturday to launch our successful Christmas window display competition for 2019, which will benefit so many local small businesses.

Our excellent selection of independent retailers are always a real attraction for shoppers and this competition will really showcase their products and services to best effect.

Cllr Paul Clarke, Cabinet Member for the Local Economy

Designed to support the development of new market based businesses in Horsham Town Centre through 2020, the Council is also launching a “January Sale” initiative for stall holders. If market stall holders book for four weeks’ trading in December 2019 they will receive two spaces for free in January 2020.

Horsham’s Swan Walk Shopping Centre offers a high quality indoor trading environment and benefits from a number of unique independent businesses that are so key to a market town like Horsham. Businesses such as Sienna Rocks (Window Wonderland Winners in 2018), Gobsmack Comics, Vacalola and Little Luxuries all add innovation, originality and high levels of customer service alongside more well-known brand names.