The award-winning business, FISH, has a straightforward ethos – to provide the freshest, best quality fish to their customers every day, which is why we deem it worthy of our business of the month for August 2019.
Truly a local independent retailer, FISH Burwell is run by Trisha Bircham and her husband Colin, FISH can be found in the Guineas Centre in Newmarket. You can also find them regularly at Ely Market with their mobile retail unit.
FISH came about after winning the 2010 ‘Strictly Newmarket’ Competition which offered opportunities to independent retailers. Going from strength to strength, FISH Burwell now supplies both independent customers and businesses such as near neighbours The Pantry, with daily fresh fish and accompaniments.
Being based in the Guineas Centre, FISH is a member of Love Newmarket BID. Trisha outlines the benefits she sees of this membership for retailers and businesses within the area.
Trisha says: “I believe the BID has been a good thing for Newmarket. We must remember it is a long-term proposition which will help establish Newmarket as a destination town. At FISH, we are already seeing more visitors from Cambridge and the outlying villages and towns. They come to Newmarket for specific purchases and to take advantage of our eateries, open spaces and unique atmosphere. As a BID board director, I know there is more to come from the BID. We are learning every time we hold an event, or suggest a new initiative. I believe more and more BID members are now tapping into the opportunities the organisation offers to them. The more they do, the bigger the benefits they will see.
“At FISH, we have noticed that when a major event runs in the town such as Christmas or the Forties Day, that although people come to town, we may not make many more sales on the day. We worried about this initially as we expected to see a higher footfall with an instant increase in sales, and higher spending power! However, although people do not want to carry purchases on the day, we noticed an increasing number of sales in the days and weeks after the events. People had noticed our shop and have come back - and keep coming back.
“This year, the board were delighted with the recent independently-run Business Awards. We saw a high number of entries and business attending, with many more businesses engaging this year. I am delighted to say that FISH won the Best Lifestyle Independent Award for Customer Service. Initiatives like this can only be good for the retail and business community. We very much enjoyed the evening and are proud to display our award.”
She added: “We have also profited from the membership cost saving scheme saving money by using the approved BID suppliers. Recently, we have benefited from the link-up between the BID and business advisor, Steve Elsom. Steve visited us as part of the offer of the free ‘Business Inspector’ programme and offered us useful advice and support which we can use to take FISH forward.”
You can find FISH in the Guineas Centre and follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
