With the festive season in full swing, Coventry retailer Paul Cheema has been thinking about his Christmas wishes for the independent retail sector in 2026.
Here is Paul’s letter to Santa Claus.
I wish the whole convenience sector can continue to stand as one
If I could only have one wish, this would be it. When convenience retailers come together, we’re a true powerhouse. It often feels like the odds are stacked against us, especially now with the latest Budget adding even more pressure. We need to stay united.
Business rates are still painful, costs keep climbing and support for small stores is nowhere near where it needs to be. The big supermarkets can swallow a lot of this. We cannot. This is why we must back each other. When we speak with one voice, we’re much harder to ignore.
I wish even more brands would get out of head offices and into stores
My second wish is for even more brands and suppliers to take the time to visit convenience stores to see how we operate. Come and see what stock really moves. Come and hear what customers ask for daily. Come and experience how effective POS can make the difference between a product flying out or gathering dust.
When brands grasp that the convenience channel is a whole different ballgame than the mults – but no less valuable – real magic happens.
Shoppers have a better experience because they can find the latest products locally – not just at the supermarket. Retailers are able to give on-the-ground feedback. And brands finally get a true sense of what their products look, feel and perform like in this ever-changing channel. It’s amazing what you learn when you stand by a till for ten minutes or help to relay a fixture.
I wish for a more streamlined, less stressful business
Costs are rising faster than the queue at my counter on a Friday afternoon. So, my third Christmas wish is for support in running a more efficient operation. I want to cut waste, cut confusion and cut anything that slows down my team.
That means smarter ordering systems that stop cash getting tied up on shelves. Better back office setups that cut the admin mountain. Tighter energy use because no retailer wants to spend half their margin heating the pavement outside. And anything else that gives us a bit of breathing room in a year that has not given us much at all.
Every retailer I know is already doing the work of Santa’s elves with the budget of a one-man band. We’re doing more with less every week. This Christmas, I simply want to see the numbers start moving in the right direction, so we can plan, invest and look ahead with confidence.
I wish for proof that government mailrooms aren’t just black holes
My final wish is simply for the government to confirm that retailer letters as part of my Protect Your Store campaign have not simply disappeared into a vast Westminster black hole.
Following months of correspondence without a single response, I hand delivered 1,435 letters to the mailroom of Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle MP in October. Surely that many letters at once would be impossible to ignore?
But there’s been nothing but radio silence from Kyle. Which makes me wonder – is the ‘mailroom’ just a shredder? And what does that say about how the government treats the hardworking people that provide vital services to communities across the country?
It tells me that the concerns of small stores do not matter. That the realities we face on the shop floor are not worth five minutes of someone’s time. It’s hard to swallow when the convenience channel is doing more and more to support communities that rely on us for everything from last minute meal ideas to post office services to a valued moment of social connection in their day.
Protect Your Store is now approaching the 2,000 letters milestone. Two thousand pleas from real retailers, colleagues and community members who are worried about rising pressures, about the impact of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the long-term survival of the shops that have served communities for decades. And still – nothing!
A lump of coal under the tree for Kyle this year feels appropriate.
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