Graham Soult FIPM

My dad was in the local Conservatives before he died, and the same bottles of wine used to make repeat appearances at the various events, being won and then donated back.

(To be clear, his death and the dodgy wine are unrelated.)

@grahamsoult.bsky.social Plenty of life still on the High Street! 'Retail Cupid' Graham talks with Nikki Clarke OBE about his retail matchmaking - filling six empty units in Durham, after partnering with local council. 39 minutes of discussion. Impressive stuff!
#Durham #RetailCupid #HighStreet

YouTube video by We Are UMi Network Reviving the high street - Graham Soult - UMicast

Some thoughts from me in this podcast with UMi!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGwO...

Teesside shop owners say it is 'not too late to save High Street' Retailers on Teesside are being invited to a series of workshops aiming to boost town centre trade.

"Independents are rooted in the town, they build relationships with customers and offer delight you can't get on your smartphone."

Some comment from me here in this BBC News article about my "Boosting Festive Footfall" workshops for the Tees Valley Combined Authority!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Retail Workshop Series – Boosting Festive Footfall Free workshops with retail expert Graham Soult to help Tees Valley retailers boost festive footfall, visibility, and sales.

Here's the Eventbrite link! www.eventbrite.com/cc/retail-wo...

Support package to boost North East high street businesses this Christmas A new support scheme launched by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority aims to boost high street businesses during the critical Christmas…

Still time for #TeesValley retailers and other businesses to sign up for my "Boosting Festive Footfall" workshops starting on Monday!

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2562147...

#retail #highstreet #highstreets

I had a hand in this study!

Town missing out on potential £174 million as shoppers are urged to change their habits this Christmas Consumers are urged to buy local and ditch online shopping as it is revealed that a town centre is missing out on a potential £174.5million a year.

@grahamsoult.bsky.social
@lincsonline.bsky.social
@springfields.bsky.social
At last, welcome evidence-base study about #SpaldingTownCentre
Town loses est £174m a year as shoppers prefer Bourne, Springfields & Peterborough | LincsOnline | 13 November 2025:
premium.lincsonline.co.uk/spalding/new...

a woman is saying i know it 's over the top but that 's how festive i am ALT: a woman is saying i know it 's over the top but that 's how festive i am

Or, where a BID or council is working in lockstep with local traders to host events, promote the festive offer and draw people into their destination.

Feel free to comment, tag and share links below! 👇

I've lots of case study material already, but am keen to use these sessions as an opportunity to celebrate and showcase examples of creative retailers and places that I might not be aware of yet - perhaps where something authentic and local is being held as an antidote to Black Friday, for instance.

Drawing from the many places I have worked and visited, the sessions will provide practical tips on how to maximise festive visibility and trade, including how best to tap into occasions such as #BlackFriday, Small Business Saturday, and local #Christmas events.

Retail Workshop Series – Boosting Festive Footfall Free workshops with retail expert Graham Soult to help Tees Valley retailers boost festive footfall, visibility, and sales.

As you may have seen, I'm looking forward to delivering eight "Boosting Festive Footfall" workshops - in person across the #TeesValley, and online - over the next few weeks. The sign-up link for local businesses is at www.eventbrite.com/cc/retail-wo....

Excellent! As I have said many times before, I just don't understand why the BRC doesn't do more to say how fantastic retail is, alongside its campaigning messages. It portrays retail as a cheerless industry no young person would want to start a career in, which is totally not the reality.

Maybe go #HighStreetPositives as @grahamsoult.bsky.social suggests: “Retail is a major employer with determined, resilient, innovative people at every level. It’s doing great stuff in challenging times and could make an even bigger contribution to your growth target given supportive policy & regs…?”

I'm glad you posted these remarks to save me having to do so, Leigh! The HIghStreetPositives campaign also has survey data showing that when you bombard people with negative "high street" headlines - even when unjustified - it helps create the very problem you are supposedly trying to mitigate.

Not really my point. The BRC data show high street footfall up by 0.7% but the article and the headline (especially) is designed not to tell you that.

Whether the data from varying sources differ is a different thing. It os the pushing of a narrative despite the data that riles me here

Exactly! 😂

I keep the Co-op bags to reuse, forget they're compostable, and then end up with a handful of disintegrated slivers 🤣

The encapsulation of Britain’s post-industrialised economy morphing into a experiential/wellness one.
Visit the excellent @beamishmuseum.bsky.social, go down a 1910s mine and then luxuriate in Coal Mine bath salts from the gift shop 🧐

Proud to reopen our #Nettleham food store tomorrow after 6 months of hard work, after a fire gutted the building - the #LincsCoop team have all pulled together with a pop up shop to support the community while we’ve repaired the original store 🫶

Completely agree! How many developed markets in the world can say this? And not just for customers but also new entrant challenger suppliers: can't get listed by one grocer, try another one!

I know Tesco's share is significantly more than anyone else's, but the fact we have six grocers with a share of 8% or higher is notable - when did that last happen? To me that indicates a healthy market with plenty of competition.

It was nice to pop up on BBC Politics North just now, and be described as "a leading retail expert"!

What a transformation for our #Horncastle funeral #LincsCoop team now relocated into a brand new £1.2m purpose built home to continue to provide outstanding care for our community 🫶

The #Peterborough store (also a former M&S, snapped by me here in 2018) shows that B&M is capable of a more tasteful approach to signage when it wants!

Chorsu Bazaar at night

Inside Chorsu Bazaar at night

Friendship of the Nations Flagstaff

Tashkent Metro

🇺🇿 I mean, once in a lifetime, amiright?
Tashkent, you have been a joy… Sorry I only got to spend one free evening, but you were a beaut…

Sainsbury’s Marsh Mills. 11 sail-like panels to create a nautical canopy to honour Plymouth’s heritage. Known locally as the Sainsbury’s Opera House

Interesting, thank you! I'm definitely eating out less in the evenings - it's just not possible any more 😥

Middle-class families are choking on the £100 ‘casual meal out’ A table for four hitting triple digits is triggering ‘bill shock’, to the detriment of Britain’s best-known restaurants

The piece went online a fortnight ago, but is in print today.
Here’s a gift link, if you’d like to read free:

Middle-class families are choking on the £100 ‘casual meal out’
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/96d6c66...

Waterstones in Bradford 🥰