| Winter is coming, a great quote from the TV series Game of Thrones that foretold of the gloom and doom around the corner for everyone. Thankfully, real life is nothing like the fantasy TV series – no Whitewalker army for us to defend against. Phew. For most of us, because we haven’t really had a hot summer like we’re used to, the transition into the colder months shouldn’t be too difficult. (Once we’ve got over our disappointment). What can we look forward to in the coming months? Easter is almost here and apart from gorging ourselves on chocolate, if you are a retailer you can look forward to an influx of visitors into our town. This is an opportunity for you to perhaps have an Easter sale to clear out any summer stock you may still have. Perhaps you might consider giving customers a voucher for a coffee or hot chocolate that can be redeemed at one of our fabulous, local cafes? There are many creative ways you can encourage visitors to keep coming back into town. The Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights is happening in Warkworth on the 1st of July, the first Saturday of the School Holidays. The event will run from 11am until 9pm down on the wharf and with amusements and rides for the kids in Baxter Street. This year, the Festival will only be held over one day instead of over two weekends as we have done in previous years. So be sure to get involved, there will be plenty of sponsorship opportunities available if you wish to showcase your business. Bringing thousands of people into Warkworth, during the Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights we encourage all shops to string lights to really bring the town to life. Furthermore, if you want to enter the festival’s Parade of Lights in the evening just add lights to anything and join in! There are so many opportunities for your local business to be seen and promoted throughout this popular annual festival. Festivals like the Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights and the classic favourite Kowhai Festival (which will be on the 21st of October 2023) are great opportunities to get out amongst the crowds to offer them incentives to come back to your business. Marketview Statistics show us that during these festival days, our hospitality businesses show an increase of 18% in customer spending. There is no reason why your business couldn’t take advantage of this increase in foot traffic too. Winter may be coming, but that doesn’t mean the world is coming to an end. Far from it in our neck of the woods. There are plenty of opportunities for us all to be inventive and to think outside the box. Let’s embrace the cooler weather and kick any negative thoughts into touch. Let’s work together to make this a positive winter with many warm returns. Murray Chapman Manager, One Mahurangi Business Association murray@onemahurangi.co.nz www.onemahurangi.co.nz Support Local, Buy Local, Employ Local, Love Local! |
Read the full newsletter HERE>
