Skipton is blessed with an abundance of small, independent businesses which grace the town’s High Street and town centre side streets. The majority of these are retail or hospitality businesses and as part of our We Love Skipton campaign, we have spoken to many of such businesses. However, there are number of hardworking independent business owners in Skipton that are positioned in the places which get the highest footfall, but don’t necessarily benefit from it.
Charles Edwards has worked at the dry cleaners at the bottom of Skipton High Street for a significant number of years. Up until 5 years ago, Charles was working as manager when it was a branch of Johnsons. When this branch was set to be closed, Charles was faced with redundancy but after long discussions with his wife, Donna, the couple made the decision to reopen as an independent, family-run dry cleaning business.
Unlike many of the businesses in Skipton’s award-winning High Street, Edwards Dry Cleaning is not the type which benefits from the town’s reputation as a popular tourist destination. When events are hosted or the coaches come in, it’s the shops, pubs, restaurants, and cafes that see the increase in footfall and sales.
Charles and Donna said: “Skipton, like most towns, needs more diversity on the high street and more competitive prices so that people have more choice. As soon as all the independents have gone the business that are left will put their prices up and the benefits of shopping local will no longer exist.”
As one would expect with a family-run business, the service here is always super friendly and with their considerable experience in the industry, it’s also consistently good. They cover a whole range of essential services and offer them all with a smile and a solid dose of professional expertise.
If it’s dry cleaning you’re after then obviously they’ve got you covered, however, they also offer a number of slightly more specialist services such as repairs. If you have a garment in need of a bit of TLC, the team at Edwards will return it to its former glory. If you made use of your evening suits and cocktail dresses over the festive period and they now need a bit of attention, Charles and Donna will take into consideration the material type to ensure they provide the correct care and avoid colour loss and shrinkage. We’ve all experienced a few laundry disasters at home and handing over your best suit or dress to professionals, is the best way of avoiding them!
Charles and Donna are all too aware of the struggles faced by independent business owners in towns like Skipton. As they are already competitively priced, they don’t run offers to attract more trade and have instead extended their offering by stocking various gifts. When you visit them, you’ll now find quite a large range of 3D handbags and wallets plus other small gifts. So, if you don’t need any dry cleaning or repairs just yet, it’s still worth popping in to peruse their interesting selection of products.
“We don’t run promotional offers, as like most independent businesses, we already struggle to get by after paying our rent and business rates. Being a small independent business in Skipton is hard and we applaud anyone who is doing the same.”
This article is part of our We Love Skipton campaign, launched to support and promote some of Skipton’s excellent independent businesses. If you own a business in Skipton and would like to know more about our affordable advertising options for local businesses, please email Advertise@theyorkshirepress.co.uk
