Why Liverpool's lockdown is a devastating blow to local fashion businesses

When Boris Johnson announced that Liverpool was entering a tier-three lockdown, everyone wrung their hands over local nightlife and the hospitality sector. But while fashion boutiques are allowed to stay open for the coming weeks, who is going to shop in a shut-down city?

“It’s very worrying for us, especially in the run-up to Christmas,” says Justine Mills, the founder of Cricket - now Britain’s biggest independent designer store outside of London. “This is usually such an exciting time of year for us but we are extremely fearful; now that there are far fewer places to go out in, there is less reason to purchase clothing.”

Like many fashion boutique owners, Cricket - which is located in central Liverpool and which attracts customers from around the region - hasn’t yet sold all the inventory it bought in January. There is no website, which means the winter collections are also selling more slowly than usual, and right now Mills is having to decide what to buy for next spring.

“We are in this crucial time of year, what with buying season and the lead-up to Christmas,” says Laura Fraser, the assistant buyer at Cricket. “Normally this is the time we maximise sales prior to the January sales, but it is so hard to know what to do in the current climate. We have to keep up with other stores, but when you’re independent like we are, it makes it even more difficult because there’s no margin for error.”

Even before the three-tier system came into effect, retail woes caused by the pandemic were not being evenly distributed around the country. Yes, London is suffering without its usual flow of tourism, but the capital’s fashion industry will survive - and overall the south-east has weathered the storm more easily than the north.

“At this stage, I’m not even sure independent stores will get back on their feet in Liverpool,” says Andrew Phipps, a retail expert at Cushman & Wakefield. “If this lasts for weeks, they really will need government support to survive. Businesses in the south-east are generally stronger, and at times like this retailers with a few outlets around the country will have the natural inclination to look at places with a positive future and concentrate on them. At the moment, most of them believe that's London and the area around it.”

Given the rapid rise in cases, brick and mortar stores like Cricket are in a difficult situation. They can’t sell online but equally they are now wary of attracting too many customers. Their sales days are famous in the region, but fears of overcrowding meant Mills has had to cancel them, leading to yet another lost revenue stream. The lack of a football audience this year has also caused problems; depriving retailers of the few weekends in a year that the city is usually flooded with tourists.

“If this goes on too long, it will create a bleak future none of us wants,” says Phipps. “One where regions that survived large industrial change to come back and create a strong retail story are now hit much harder by this crisis, seeing the country return to the stark north-south divide of the past.”

However, the outlook isn’t entirely bleak. The fact that restaurants in Liverpool can remain open, even if pubs and bars cannot, has been a lifeline for fashion brands as people still have some reason to go out and get dressed up. The lack of impetus to travel to London for Christmas shopping means that local stores should also pick up any customers looking to buy designer clothes. And while footfall has been much lower than usual, the team at Cricket noticed that customers  nearly always buy something, implying that browsing is dead but shopping is not, as long as people get through the door in the first place.

Jennifer Mitchell, the Liverpool-based founder of Overdress Vintage, says her robust sales this season have surprised her. Helped by the fact she has always been an online retailer, she believes the need for escapism and fun is still there and will only increase over the Christmas months.

“Liverpool is resilient,” she says on the phone, her voice catching as she speaks about her hometown. “Our customers always want to look good, whether they are in their bubble at a restaurant or at home - people may have to be creative about it, but they will find a way to go out and wear their party dresses.

“Yes, the pandemic has impacted my business aspirations, but I’m optimistic. We live in a social media world and this is a city where people fire on all cylinders and know how to get through a crisis.”

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