Health & Remedy has been congratulated in Parliament for being named as Natural Lifestyle Retailer of the Year as its local MP lodges an Early Day Motion.
The store, in Chard, Somerset, and run by Cris and Jason Wootton, has been open little over a year, but in that time, has made its mark on the local community, and was a deserving winner of the accolade, run by HFB’s sister magazine, Natural Lifestyle, the leading in-store consumer title distributed in health stores.
The retailers have not only been inundated with congratulations from the local community, but by their local MP, Adam Dance, too. In a letter to Cris and Jason, Dance wrote: “It is a fantastic achievement and a real reflection of the hard work and dedication you have put into building your business and providing such a high standard of service to your customers. What makes your achievement particularly impressive is that you have managed to build such a successful business at a time when independent businesses across Somerset are facing significant pressures from rising costs and an unfair tax system.”
Commenting on the letter and the EDM, the pair told Health Food Business: “When we opened the envelope labelled House of Commons, we were a little scared, however, when we read the letter to say that our little shop in Chard has been mentioned in Parliament, we were gobsmacked! We are so honoured and proud that our shop might be able to help more people, and that that’s all because we won Natural Lifestyle Retailer of the Year.”
The EDM, which was tabled on September 1, reads: “That this House celebrate Health & Remedy in Chard on being awarded Natural Lifestyle Retailer of the Year; commends the hard work and dedication the owners have put into building their business and providing an exceptionally high standard of service to their customers, recognises the vital role independent businesses play across Yeovil and South Somerset, forming the bedrock of the local economy; notes the importance of health shops in encouraging people to make informed choices to improve their health and wellbeing.”
It also asked for acknowledgement that the tax system is having a detrimental impact on businesses, further acknowledges that Health and Remedy’s success is all the more remarkable within this context; calls on this Government to do more to support businesses in rural and semi-rural communities like Yeovil, which require a different approach to big cities like London and Manchester; and urges Government to start by overhauling the unfair business rates system, providing more support with energy costs, and reducing Value Added Tax on high street businesses.
