Stalls and food businesses in a Camberwell winter market are struggling to stay afloat amid the lack of profit and rising inflation.
Business owners at the annual Winter Market in Camberwell Green at the end of November told South London Lines that the rising cost of living and the increase in prices of raw materials negatively impacted their bottom line.
Inay Rodriques, the owner of Dreamcatcher Candles, said: “I have been forced to increase the price for my products. With all that’s happening, people don’t have a lot of money [to spend].”
Rodriques said that raw material costs had also increased. “Things like the price of wax, glass, absolutely everything has increased. Everything you could possibly think of is affected.”
Rodriques currently works a second job to support herself. “With less income coming in at the end of the month, another job helps.”
Rodriques said the government should help stalls like hers. “They can drop the taxes, help with fuel. The list is endless really.”
Mina Roshan, the owner of the Fish Tale stall and fishmonger told South London Lines: “[It’s been] very bad. It has become that bad now, we are supporting the shop with the market.”
Roshan said how shops like hers had to shut down: “The inflation basically caused prices to go up. Stock price had become double. Rent price doubled. That’s why so many shops are closed; they can’t cope.
“We bought salmon fillets – £8 a kilo. Now we pay £12 pounds a kilo. A 15 percent increase!”
As customers have become frugal with their money, Roshan has been selling less. “Customers don’t spend as much as before. It used to be “this, this, this” but now they only buy two items.”
Roshan said how markets had been her lifeline. “If we don’t do markets, then we have to close our shop. Markets have a better profit. You don’t pay any insurance, just the pitch.”
Roshan said she may have to close her business. “I told my husband, if we go another six months like this, and if it doesn’t work, then we have to close our shop. We have no choice! It is hard.”
Zoe Scott, the owner of the stall SOW (Something Others Want), which uses zero waste, still struggles to keep prices reasonable.
“We had to put up the prices. I initially wasn’t, but my sister said that I won’t make it if I don’t. So I put an extra one or two pounds on certain things.”
Scott said that she had to think of “Christmas specials” to keep customers interested. “This Christmas, I had come up with a rum punch and a pepper sauce. It is not my usual field since I work with fabrics but I thought I would do two condiments just to see what happens.”
Scott said that the government was not doing enough for small business owners. “I’m not being horrible but those empty shops that have been vacated…you can put 10 of us in there for crying out loud!”
“We’re all out here in the freezing cold! No one’s helping us.”
