Welcome to the Small Business Retail Sessions podcast, brought to you by Enterprise Nation's Powering the High Street programme, in collaboration with EDF.

This series explores the major challenges that today's retailers are facing – from declining footfall and vacant shop-fronts to the post-pandemic recovery and increasing demand for sustainability.

Alice Mayor is a creative entrepreneur and founder of We Built This City and London Made Me – two pioneering platforms that have championed independent artists, designers and makers by putting them at the heart of the high street.

From opening a central London souvenir store celebrating local creatives to partnering with the Mayor of London on a retail training programme, Alice has spent over a decade empowering creatives to build meaningful retail experiences.

In this episode, Alice shares her journey from pop-up pioneer to retail mentor, and explains why supporting artists and independent makers is vital to the cultural and commercial future of the high street.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• How We Built This City brought creativity to Carnaby Street
• Why independent makers deserve visibility in central retail spaces
• The power of storytelling in connecting customers with local products
• How London Made Me helps creatives learn, build and trade on the high street
• Advice for creatives looking to run a pop-up or try physical retail
• Why footfall data – and real customer insight – matters more than intuition
• The emotional and economic value of products with meaning and provenance
• The role of humour and accessibility in breaking down retail barriers
• How artists can turn retail into a workshop, event or community space
• The future of retail as collective, purpose-driven and deeply human

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Through the Powering the High Street programme, we're bringing new energy to retail in the UK. We're helping small businesses thrive on the high street – through expert support, smart energy advice and practical tools to grow sustainably.

Find out more at enterprisenation.com/poweringthehighstreet/

To listen to previous podcast episodes, go to enterprisenation.com/podcast