The Street Trader | Current News

Love the streets you trade in

Contents: Better Communication | Counterfeit Goods | Reporting Crime | No Cash Payments | Online Promotions | Portobello Pantry | Golborne Rep | Next PGMC Meeting | PGMC Election | Christmas Lights | Vision Group Report | Toilets Update

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Online promotion update from the Markets Development Officer

The Portobello and Golborne Road Markets Facebook page is now 'liked' by 217 people. That may not sound like many, but since the page was set up at the end of February its posts have received nearly 113,000 views. That's over 5,000 per week. Imagine what the numbers would be if - as is the case with another markets-related page - we had tens of thousands of 'likes' instead of a couple of hundred! Quick caculation suggests that the number of visitors and views would quickly add up to almost one million every week, which is just about where we ought to be. Your participation and the contributions of merchants, residents, customers and visitors will be critical factors in achieving the critical mass necessary for success.

I have noticed that when there are frequent Facebook page updates (including posts, links, photos, comments, videos and the like), the number of visitors and views increases. For this reason I strongly urge all traders, residents and customers to find, ‘like’ and use the new Facebook page. In particular, if you have a business page on Facebook I invite you to post information about your products – especially new stock, seasonal items and special promotions. Anything to keep the content fresh and interesting, so shoppers have a place to find out what’s going on in our markets. Anyone interested in helping to maintain this page should contact me - this would only require periodically checking to ensure that nothing irrelevant or inappropriate has appeared on it - just 5 minutes per week would really help.

The Facebook page is the latest addition to the markets’ presence on social media sites, joining our Twitter stream (for short timely messages at www.twitter.com/rbkc_markets) and our Flickr group (for photos). Using these tools I am continuing to interact directly with a rapidly expanding number of traders, customers, local shops, residents, as well as partners across London and the UK, to promote the markets and enhance the visitor and shopping experience. If you’d like to hear a few examples, or learn about how you might use these free tools to promote your business, please ask.

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Friday Portobello Pantry:

According to a recent 'Residents Panel' survey (clicking this link will download a PDF) conducted by the Council, nearly three quarters of borough residents had visited a market over the previous six months, with Portobello Road being their favourite. The number one reason residents gave for visiting their favourite market was to buy fruit, vegetables and other fresh produce. Three quarters also expressed interest in visiting fresh produce and farmers markets. To complement our existing offer and attract renewed attention to the fresh and prepared foods available on Portobello Road market stalls, the street trading team have been bringing in new specialist food traders to a Friday-only 'Portobello Pantry'. The main focus is on items to be used at home, not takeaway food that gets eaten straight away (though some traders may need to let customers try their products to make the sale). Please contact the Street Trading Office with any questions or comments.

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Portobello and Golborne Management Committee (PGMC)

Golborne representative request:

The PGMC are still seeking a Golborne representative. Although a market trader is preferred, any expressions of interest on the part of someone willing to make the commitment to attend quarterly PGMC meetings would be welcome. If you are interested please see PGMC Chairman Mark Barr on site 51 Fridays or site 120 Saturdays. Alternately get in touch with the Street Trading office or inform any of the team if you see us on the market.

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Next PGMC meeting:

The next PGMC meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday 7 September 2011 at the Street Trading Office, 72 Tavistock Road W11 1AN.

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PGMC Election

The PGMC held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 6 July 2011 at the Street Trading Office. Mark Barr was unanimously re-elected Chairman, and Frances Sacco was elected to the new post of Vice Chairman.

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2011 Christmas lights

The PGMC is fundraising for Christmas lights and are hoping this year's will be even more impressive than last year's. To meet our budget, and to supplement our £4000 plus the Street Trading Office's usual £3500, we would need the equivalent of £50 from each of the 300 businesses along Portobello and Golborne Roads. That's less than £1 per week over a year. Please make cheques payable to The Portobello and Golborne Managment Committee and deliver to the PGMC c/o Street Trading Office, 72 Tavistock Road, London W11 1AN. Many thanks in advance for your generosity!

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PGMC Task & Finish Group report

The PGMC's Task & Finish Vision Group reported its findings at the last Market Streets Action Group meeting at the end of March. PDFs of the Vision Statement and the detailed findings are now available to download!

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Toilets refurbishment update

As you are no doubt aware, works on both Talbot and Bevington Road toilets are still underway. You can see renderings of what they will look like when finished as well as in-progress photographs on Facebook and Flickr. We will continue to provide updates via this newsletter, Twitter, and Facebook. Once we know our contractors have completed their work, UK Power Networks have made the necessary electrical connections, and the toilets are ready to be used, we will let everyone know so that we can work together to organise a stonking opening celebration!

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