North West business briefs: Solutions 24-7; Merseytravel; Bensons for Beds; AJ Bell; Vita Group

A Sandbach trader

Marketing & PR agency Solutions 24-7 has produced a series of videos for Cheshire East Council as part of the local authority’s “Say ‘hi’ to the High Street” campaign. The videos, which form part of the initiative’s winter phase, promote Cheshire East’s 11 towns and are designed to encourage people to shop locally throughout the festive period and support the high streets on their doorstep.

COVID-19 safety messages also feature, including reminders about wearing face coverings, testing regularly and washing hands frequently. The project was undertaken by Solutions 24-7’s video, photo, drone and animation division, Studio 24-7, which specialises in telling stories through still and moving imagery.

It is not the first time that Studio 24-7 has produced videos within the field of destination marketing, having previously worked with Business Improvement Districts in the North West on a number of projects aimed at encouraging footfall and creating a buzz on social media. Each spotlight film shows off a range of different businesses, famous landmarks and historic buildings within each town while also introducing the people behind some of Cheshire East’s unique shops and organisations.

An array of yuletide scenes are captured as well, showing how towns right across the borough have been spreading festive cheer and holding events for residents to enjoy as Christmas approaches. With support from town councils, the videos are being accompanied by advertisements and a series of social media posts.

This latest instalment of “Say ‘hi’ to the High Street” follows the delivery of a similar promotion which was launched in the spring after the easing of lockdown restrictions. The campaign has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Director at Solutions 24-7, Wendy Batey-Gray, oversaw the delivery of the project and is proud to have helped Cheshire East Council in its bid to encourage shopping local, sayig: “Supporting local businesses and the communities where we live and work is something our whole team is passionate about so we’ve loved being able to deliver this project with Cheshire East Council to shine a spotlight on the borough’s wonderful towns and their businesses.”

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Merseyrail trains

People on Merseyside are being reminded to plan their journeys and follow key advice when travelling during the festive season. A round-up of transport information is now available, with transport authority Merseytravel confirming it will be running its annual, special network of free bus services on Christmas Day between around 12 noon and 6pm, covering most hospital routes.

The Mersey Tunnels Tolls will also be free, as usual, between 10pm on Christmas Eve and 6am on Boxing Day. Travellers are being urged to plan ahead and check timetables, so they don’t get caught out as some services finish earlier than usual at this time of year, particularly on Christmas Eve.

They should also continue to follow the current Government guidance that includes compulsory wearing of face coverings on board all public transport as well as at ferry terminals, bus and rail stations to help keep everyone safe. Merseytravel is working with transport operators to provide services as safely as possible with minimal disruption. Staff will be out and about on the network providing reassurance and advice to passengers.

Cllr Liam Robinson, transport and air quality portfolio holder for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said: “This is a busy time of year for lots of reasons, but with the emergence of the Omicron variant it’s really important that we all do everything we can to help reduce the spread of the virus and keep everyone safe.

“The Metro Mayor has always said that face coverings should remain mandatory in enclosed public spaces and on public transport and I’m urging everyone to continue to wear them when you’re travelling and in places where you are mixing with lots of people, especially indoors.”

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Accrington-based Bensons for Beds has been ranked the top UK retailer for reputation in a report that said it was “a remarkable comeback story”. The 2021 Retail Reputation Report, published by Reputation, a global specialist in reputation experience management, examined 3.7 million shopper reviews of retailers in the US and UK across their websites, social media channels and Google Business Profiles.

Bensons, which underwent a major restructuring in June 2020, came out as number one in a top 20 including John Lewis & Partners, Boots, Marks & Spencer, the Co-operative Group and Next. The report said the rankings showed how well retailers bounced back from the height of the pandemic and how they had an opportunity to improve customer experience by responding to customer reviews.

It added: “The top-ranked UK retailer, Bensons for Beds, is a remarkable comeback story. The company remodelled its stores and reinvented itself during lockdown. It invested in product innovation, such as a vegan-friendly mattress collection. The company also invested in a new e-commerce platform to become a stronger multichannel retailer. Today, Benson for Beds says it is strongly bouncing back as it experiences pent-up consumer demand online and offline.

“Benson for Beds ranked very well for customer sentiment and visibility. Unlike many other UK and US retailers, Benson for Beds achieved a relatively strong engagement score. Here is a brand that is all about today and leading tomorrow.”

Mark Jackson, Bensons for Beds CEO, said: “To be ranked so highly in such a prestigious list of some of the finest retailers in the UK is satisfying – not least because we know managing supply chain and resource stresses during the past year has been hard and continues to be a key priority. But while we know there is still much to do as we step up our transformation programme, it’s right I thank our colleagues across the business for the way they’re rising to those challenges.”

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Salford-based investment platform AJ Bell has donated 18 laptops and 16 desktop PCs to Manchester’s Brookburn Primary School, helping reduce electronic waste and support the education of local children.

AJ Bell’s technology team received a letter from Brookburn’s 11-year-old Eco-councillor, asking for any donations to help build the school’s IT suite. Students were previously sharing computers with keys missing and unable to run the educational programmes to help improve their tech learning.

The PCs donated by AJ Bell would normally have been passed onto a firm that specialises in recycling electronics as the materials, such as precious metals, plastics and wiring, can be reused. Instead, the computers were wiped by AJ Bell’s IT team, prepared with the software needed by the school and set up in the IT suite.

Mo Tagari, chief technology officer at AJ Bell, said: “When the kids walked into the suite and saw all the computers set up, their faces were beaming. Their eco-council spoke about all the measures the school is taking to improve sustainability and I’m delighted the AJ Bell tech team have been able to contribute with the donated computers. I’m keen to challenge other companies to follow our lead – get in touch with local schools and see how you can help with their eco-schemes through donating technology and promoting STEM education.”

Emily Henderson, deputy head teacher at Brookburn Primary School, said: “We are so very grateful to the AJ Bell team for supporting our school community and donating so many laptops and computers. The impact this will have on our pupils really is so significant and we feel very fortunate that such brilliant initiatives exist to work in partnership and create sustainable models for reusing technology within the world of education. Thank you.”

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Alistair Knowles (Vita), Steven Lambert (ICCG), Fabienne Clough (Shelter)

Manchester-based The Vita Group is delivering a further 100 donated high quality mattresses to Shelter, the homeless charity, this week, in a bid to reduce rough sleeping in Greater Manchester and offer those desperately in need, a safe, clean bed this Christmas.

Shelter is working with Manchester City Council’s temporary accommodation provider, ICCG Services, to allocate the mattresses across Manchester’s temporary and emergency housing. The mattresses will help address the huge demand for clean bedding in hostels and other forms of temporary housing, fuelled by rising numbers of homeless people and the need to meet COVID-19 hygiene protocols.

In total, flexible foam solutions provider Vita has pledged 300 mattresses to Shelter, with a value of more than £50,000. To support the ICCG the mattresses are being delivered in three stages. The first 100 mattresses were delivered in summer 2021 and third delivery is scheduled for next year.

Currently, there are 3,000 families on the waiting list for permanent accommodation in Greater Manchester, with a potential three-year waiting list. Manchester also has one of the highest rates of rough sleeping in the UK. John Ryan, Shelter’s HUB manager for Greater Manchester, said: “As we enter the colder months and the Christmas season, inevitably there is a spike in demand for services and, working alongside our partners, our goal is to get as many people off the streets and into accommodation as quickly as possible. The Vita Group’s mattress donation will really support this goal. The mattresses will also mean the first good night’s sleep in a long time for many people forced to sleep rough. That’s so important in terms of health and wellbeing, and supporting people cope with the mental strain of Christmas.”

Ian Robb, group CEO at The Vita Group, said: “This was a natural partnership with Shelter as there is a synergy between The Vita Group producing high quality mattresses and the fact Shelter and its partners are in constant need of these products. This donation is our way of helping to alleviate the problem. We truly hope that we can make a difference to people for whom Christmas can be an enormously difficult time.”

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