Latest News From Grafham Village Shop – October 2024
Trade Easing Up
As it is turning cooler, days are shorter and school holidays are over (thank goodness say exhausted parents) shop trade has eased off a bit. Matters are not helped by the unhelpful closure of the wibbly wobbly. You would not think that we get much passing trade but there is more than you think. And the Road Closed signs really do not encourage passing visitors. Let’s hope the County Council listen to the views of local residents and our councillors. Thankfully the campsite is still open… it feels busier this year so that certainly helps the weekend trade.
We stock the essentials for life
Marginally on the brighter side of things, we do stock most of the essentials for life so if you would rather stay safe and alive than risk the nightmare of Buckden roundabout or the joys of the increasingly busy A14 then please remember us. And if you give the shop notice we can probably ensure any special favourites are ordered in for you.
AGM coming up.
The AGM will take place in the Village Hall 6.45 for 7pm on Thursday 17th October, where we will go through the years accounts, discuss the future of the shop and twist everybody’s arms to help out in some way or another. If this doesn’t sound very appealing (AGMs rarely are) we will be offering a slice of cake and a cuppa to make it worth your while.
Accounts – Expected Loss Confirmed
Just to get the bad news out the way, we did make a significant loss last year… and we were expecting it. The big hits were extra staff costs as a result of staff changes and poor sales and margins in the spring, matters were made worse by increased electricity costs and an increase in the minimum wage. To be clear, the current committee is absolutely not blaming the last committee for leaving a “black hole”. Unlike others by the Thames, we had done our homework, and knew exactly what we were taking on. Prospects so far this current year are much better but we really do rely on our local community to support us in the winter. Of course the one silver lining to making a loss is there is no chance that we have to pay any corporation tax!