Oliver’s Brighton is commended at the House of Commons.
Exactly two years after opening a dedicated Harry Potter licensed giftware store, owner Oliver Dall was delighted to see the shop commended in the finals of the 25 Best Small Shops in the UK, at an event held at the House of Commons on November 5.
Commenting on what inspired him to open a shop dedicated to Harry Potter merchandise, Oliver (pictured with local Brighton MP, Caroline Lucas of the British Green Party) told LicensingSource: “I had an epiphany while re-reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets during a trip to Asia. At the time, I was looking for a new business venture, and I thought, why don’t I open a Harry Potter wizarding shop! When I came back to Brighton, I found a shop in Trafalgar Street and subsequently opened Oliver’s Brighton on November 11, 2017.”
Explaining the secret of the company’s success, he continued: “We stock over 500 official Harry Potter products and are very fortunate in that we get customers visiting from all over the world. We therefore make sure that the shop is the crème de la crème, with it’s success down to its style, smell, ambience and service that we offer.”
The winner of this year’s Britain’s Best Small Shops competition was deli Papadeli in Bristol. Runners up were The Recycled Candle Company and Bookish in Crickhowell. Highly commended were children’s shop Small Stuff in Sheffield and Cavanagh & Baker, The Island Made Emporium at Shanklin.
“It’s great to be able to celebrate the lifeblood of our high streets, our independent retailers, especially at this time of uncertainty and discord,” stated Meryl Halls, vice chair of the Independent Retail Confederation (IRC), organiser of the competition. “The role of an independent retailer can seem like a thankless task but they are nothing if not survivors. Small shop owners employ local people and contribute to local communities and we are so pleased to have been able to showcase the best of independent retailing and give a vision of how engaging and exciting our high streets can be.”
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