Three independent Mid Cheshire businesses you voted top of the shops

Independent traders are at the heart of Mid Cheshire’s local communities and with the ongoing cost of living crisis they’re struggling.

It’s not easy running your own business, juggling increasing overheads, big company competition and a move away from town and city centre high streets and local communities to online shopping.

As part of our Best of 2024 competition, earlier this month we wanted to show Mid Cheshire’s small business owners some love and celebrate the best the town has to offer.

Readers and followers of the Northwich and Winsford Guardian and the Knutsford Guardian nominated their favourite independent shop or business as part of the #ukindieday celebrations.

Independents account for around 65 per cent of the 290,000 retail outlets in the UK and they are at the heart of local communities.

There were nominations for butchers and florists, fashion boutiques and home improvement places covering dozens of businesses in Mid Cheshire.

We shortlisted the top 10 businesses and shops in the area and you voted Pulse of Perfumery your number one.

View Mid Cheshire’s top 12 independent shops and businesses here

As Independent Retailer Month comes to an end, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the three businesses that you voted top of the shops in Mid Cheshire – Pulse of Perfumery, The Vinyl Café and The Style Hut.

PULSE OF PERFUMERY

Pulse of Perfumery opened in 2011

What’s your name?

Peter Murray

What’s the name of the business?

Pulse of Perfumery

What’s the address?

63, King Street, Knutsford, WA16 6DX

The shop is on King Street, Knutsford

Are you the owner/manager?

Melanie Seddon and I are co-owners.

When did you open the business?

In 2011

Tell me a bit about your business. What do you do? What services do you provide?

We are retailers of premium fragrances, some very well-known brands alongside little-known artisan niche fragrance houses from around the world. We also have some highly sought after brands that are exclusive to us in the UK. We have a unique and very consultative approach and offer a different fragrance shopping experience to any other retailer. We are inclusive and not exclusive and we share our passion and know how daily with our clients and help them discover brands they probably would never explore without our guidance and expertise. We are a friendly and approachable team, all of whom know every scent in every bottle on our shelves and can therefore help clients navigate what can often be a daunting process if left alone in finding a new favourite scent. We also offer private fragrance consultations, which are extremely popular as gifts, and they can be booked as one to one sessions or three people can enjoy sharing in the experience.

Why did you decide to open your own business?

We both worked for a long time for a number of luxury fragrance brands and we felt that the service we offer and the way we do things, just didn’t exist here in the UK.

Why this type of business?

Perfume is what we know best and have a huge passion for. I was sales director for luxury Italian brand La Perla for a number of years, managing the distribution along with a number of niche perfume brands that I discovered and introduced to the UK market. Mel and I met at La Perla and together established the La Perla fragrance brand in the UK. Later, Mel went on to manage 25 fragrance brands working as national sales manager for the then biggest fragrance distributor in the UK.

Bespoke shopping experiences are available

What makes your business different to others in the same area/field? What sets your business apart from your competitors?

Our combined breadth of experience, each with more than 40 years in the industry is unique. We’ve had the good fortune to work with perfumers and retailers - everyone from Harrods to the smallest chemist if they carried a brand we were responsible for as well as the end consumer. We have a unique perspective and a huge passion for perfumery and respect and understand its artistry and the work of the perfumer. We also love people and witnessing daily the joy a beautiful perfume can bring and the memories it creates and evokes in our wonderful clients.

Tell us why customers like coming to you. Why do they choose your business over others?

We are now fortunate enough to have more than 10,000 clients on our database, travelling to shop with us from all corners of the country. We have curated a wonderful selection of brands based on our extensive experience and constant research and exploration so clients know they will enjoy discovering new brands here. Our clients are fabulous in spreading the word about us and this is the very best form of advertising. Ultimately, we look after and never take our clients for granted - we listen to what they are looking for and we help them discover something they wouldn’t have otherwise. We have an incredible team working alongside us in Danielle, Anthony and Skye who understand and deliver excellent customer service. This service coupled with fabulous fragrance brands keeps clients coming back again and again, which is why we are still here and loving what we do 13 years down the line in Knutsford.

THE VINYL CAFÉ

The Vinyl Café opened nearly two years ago

What’s your name?

Susan Buckler

What’s the name of the business?

The Vinyl Café

What’s the address?

62 Station Road, Northwich CW9 5RB

Are you the owner/manager?

Yes, I’m the owner.

When did you open the business?

In August 2022

Tell me a bit about your business. What do you do? What services do you provide

The Vinyl Café is a record Store. We sell new and re-mastered albums and pre loved vinyl. We can also order new releases and back catalogue albums and we sell CDs, cassettes and books. We also offer great coffee, teas, artisan cakes, and toasted sandwiches and teacakes. We have events like The Vinyl club night and showcase artists who come and play an acoustic set in the window, which we call Band in the Window.

The Vinyl Café is a unique space, much like a community for music and coffee lovers

Why did you decide to open your own business?

I have spent my whole career in the music industry. My first job was in a record shop when, as a teenager, I made lots of lifetime friends and went on to work for major record labels including Jive Records, Sony Music and Virgin Records. I now run my own music PR company alongside The Vinyl Café. I hoped my love for music would bring like-minded people together, which has certainly happened since I opened The Vinyl Café. It’s a space where people can come in sit at the large community table and chat, make friends or just sit and chill out and have a coffee and cake and just browse through the vinyl.

What makes your business different to others in the same area/field? What sets your business apart from your competitors?

The Vinyl Café is a record store as well as a café. It’s a unique space much like a community for music and coffee lovers. It has brought people together over the past two years who have become friends who now meet at The Vinyl Café. There are many Vinyl Cafés around the UK who offer the same but we are the only one in this area.

Why do loyal customers return to your business?

We have many local customers who come into The Vinyl Café every week who have become friends of The Vinyl Café, enjoy the chat or just like to look at what`s new.

What’s next? What do the next few months hold for you and your business?

We are hoping to expand on what we have, including offering a pre-release service on new vinyl and also we’re looking to put on more events and expand our opening times.

THE STYLE HUT

Claire and Emma provide a warm welcome at The Style Hut

What’s your name?

Claire Forster

What’s the name of the business?

The Style Hut

What’s the address?

Northwich Indoor Market Hall, Applemarket Street, Northwich

Are you the owner/manager?

I’m the owner

The Style Hut helps customers feel like a million dollars

When did you open the business?

I opened The Style Hut nearly eight years ago

Tell me a bit about your business. What do you do? What services do you provide?

I put my heart and soul into The Style Hut and strive to get the latest fashion and best quality at wonderful prices, as every penny counts to people in this current climate.

Why did you decide to open your own business?

I absolutely love fashion and the way it can make us feel. I love my little boutique

And I love doing what I do. I love clothes, shopping and making people feel good about themselves so this really is my dream job.

The Style Hut is on Northwich Market

What makes your business different to others in the same area/field? What sets your business apart from your competitors?

My aim is to provide a happy caring little boutique where each customer feels special in the clothing they purchase from The Style Hut. I am very lucky to have help from my best friend Emma who loves the boutique and customers as much as I do.

Why do loyal customers return to your business?

We love suggesting outfits to our ladies who at first are not sure and then try the outfit on and feel a million dollars. The look on their faces make our job so worthwhile. My customers have become friends and it can be like a mothers’ meeting some days in the boutique but there is always laughter and they like the personal touch we offer. I really do have the best customers. We discuss anything and everything in my little boutique and I think it is the down to earth nature lots of people like, they trust my judgement in the latest fashion and the outfits I put together teamed with fantastic prices and honest opinion.