Member Article

Nationwide bus tour to hit the road to promote Small Business Saturday

The organisers of the UK’s next Small Business Saturday - when small, independent businesses in communities across the country will be in the national spotlight -

have announced that a nationwide bus tour will begin on November 17th to promote the event to both consumers and small business owners around the UK. The tour, in the liveried Small Business Saturday bus, will kick off in Victoria Gardens, Leeds before travelling to 13 other destinations before arriving in Camden, North London on December 4th.

The full itinerary is:

Nov 17 Leeds (Victoria Gardens, Leeds Central Library)

Nov 18 York

Nov 19 Edinburgh (Grassmarket)

Nov 20 Belfast

Nov 21 Manchester (The Northern Quarter - Oak Street)

Nov 24 Chesterfield (Market Square)

Nov 25 Nottingham (Trinity Square)

Nov 26 Norwich (The Forum)

Nov 27 Birmingham (Shirley Shopping Precinct - Solihull)

Nov 28 Cardiff

Dec 1 Bristol (Central Promenade)

Dec 2 Plymouth (Frankfort Gate)

Dec 3 Lambeth, South London (The Cut)

Dec 4 Camden, North London (Queens Crescent Market)

“The first Small Business Saturday last year was an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK,” explains National Campaign Director Michelle Ovens.

“Our bus tour last year was a very visible way of bringing Small Business Saturday to centres around the UK and was instrumental in drumming up interest, support and enthusiasm. We are visiting even more places this year and hope small business owners and consumers will visit the bus to get information and find out ways in which they can support small businesses and make the day work most effectively for companies in their own communities,” Michelle adds.

Senior politicians led by the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Ed Milliband; Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne; Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable; Chuka Umunna, the Shadow Business Secretary and Matthew Hancock, the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, all took to the streets last year to encourage consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses.

Small Business Saturday UK has also attracted the support of leading business organisations including Federation of Small Businesses, the Association of City and Town Management, Association of Convenience Stores, Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association, as well as corporates like American Express, O2, Lloyds Bank and NatWest and prominent entrepreneurs Theo Paphitis, Karren Brady, Charlie Mullins and Martha Lane Fox.

American Express founded the hugely successful ‘Small Business Saturday’ initiative in the U.S. in 2010 and is an active supporter of the programme in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.

Business owners can already download marketing packs from the Small Business Saturday web site whilst further information can also be found on the Small Business Saturday Facebook page (www.facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturdayuk) Twitter page (@SmallBizSatUk) and website (www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com).

Ends.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Howard Robinson .