Real Shops campaIgns Bath

REAL SHOPS CAMPAIGNS BATH PIONEER ADRIAN DOLAN 

For 25 years Adrian Dolan my husband has fought for independent shops in Bath. In fact, that is how I met him, on opening my shop in 1996 Broad Street he came in, introduced himself and asked would I like to join the Real Shop's campaign. His passion and devotion to keeping the independent mix in Bath alive and kicking has been a passion. He is now chairman of Walcot Traders Association and works tirelessly to keep it going.  Adrian is an "Onion" (Bathonian) and takes great pride in his city of birth. When we walk around town and he sees a new shop appear he always informs me whether it will be a winner or not and very often he's right. In 1995 a small group  of passionate small business owners created an independent  "real" shops guide with the idea of focusing on the owner managed independents throughout the city as a coordinated marketing project. It started with 11 and reached a peak of about 110 Independents around the city. The main focus for this project was to promote the value of the independent sector within the local econmony and boost the awareness of the amazing qualitiy and variety of such specialist business and their services to a regional audience. These directories were produced independantly and distributed through a network reaching hotels, BnBs and the tourist information bureaux in Bath and its environs. The success of this was down to the enthusiasm and passion of a small core group of traders. These traders were all passionate about the city and this positive initiative certainly helped to promote their value within the economy of the city as well as making it such an attraction for locals, visitors and tourists.  

On opening my shop in 1996 Adrian came in and asked me if I wanted to join the real shops campaign I did we fell in love and became business partners which has lasted through ups and downs for 25 years. I am proud of my husbands passion for his city and the independent shops.

.Article By Annette Dolan 

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