Liverpool traders say they are unlikely to regain the same number of visitors to their new premises after moving from their old site off Edge Lane to a new “Food Hub” in Gillmoss.
Following the move at the end of 2017, traders say customers who visit later in the morning after breakfast, known as late trade, have all but vanished, leaving them facing a hole in their revenue.
Total Produce branch manager, Ian Mack, said: “There hasn’t really been an improvement in footfall. There’s a possibility that when more units will be taken up some more footfall will come.
“We moved about three to four miles out from the old market where there was a meat and fish market, and a lot of the Chinese and Asian trade stayed at the meat and fish market, so they kept all the late trade.
“It’s had a big impact on the business, but we’re holding up,” says Ian Hurst, of Hurst Produce. “We expected some footfall to go but not to the extent that it has dropped.”
Despite the fall in late customers, Mack says the loss of trade has been offset by diversifying their business. “We had to diversify so that we’re doing more deliveries. We have managed to maintain turnover by doing more foodservice type orders.”
Mack says he is working with more restaurants, adding “the high street is more or less finished.” He said that the rise in Turkish restaurants in Liverpool has helped to boost business in particular. “They have decent orders, it’s great for our business and they are more prone to take deliveries.”
Both Hurst and Mack agree that the new site is a massive improvement on the old building. “The place is fantastic but we’re not a wholesale market any more. It’s more like a cash and carry, there’s no market atmosphere,” says Hurst.
