Owner of Iguazu Fair Trade, Middlegate, Newark appeals the public to shop

The owner of a Fairtrade business has appealed to the community to help the business survive after witnessing shocking floods.

Neil Walton, owner of Iguazu Fair Trade Shops, with locations at Middlegate in Newark, as well as Beeston and West Bridgford in Nottingham, has launched the appeal on the business’s social media.

In the post, the owner talks about how the last two months have seen an unprecedented slowdown in sales’ for them, making it a very dangerous time for them considering all the issues of the past four years.

Since it first opened, Iguazu has been working with over 200 small suppliers, focusing on Fairtrade gifts and homeware, ethically sourced hardwood furniture from Java and Thailand, and handmade silver jewellery.

Neil and his ex-partner Karen were inspired to launch Iguazu after they returned from travelling the world and living in places such as Vancouver, Paraguay, Sydney, and Hamilton in New Zealand.

The shop's name is a nod to the Iguazu Falls, located on the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, and was the couple's escape from the big city and they said it was the highlight of their time in South America. Being on the border of three countries, the shop embodies the view of different people, cultures, and values, but harmony.

Fascinated by the world and what it had to offer, Neil and Karen Walton opened the small shop in Beeston in 2003, followed by West Bridgford’s store in 2008, and in 2020 they expanded the business to open one in Middlegate, offering a blend of cultures from all over the world.

After a recent trip to Thailand and witnessing ‘shocking floods’ where ‘elephants were washed away and thousands of businesses were affected’, Neil was looking for a way of helping his suppliers and other businesses, and due to the current stagnation of the economy, Neil decided to launch the online appeal to increase sales to be able to help.

He added: “My team and I are so passionate about what we do; we have three gorgeous shops, amazing staff, and work with 60 family businesses in Thailand to bring you unique, lovingly handmade products that help support some seriously wonderful people.

“Having seen the recent floods in Thailand, they need our help as much as we need yours.

“We also buy from some amazing UK fair trade businesses and small UK producers and just want to weather this storm.

“Our next container of goodies arrives next week and so we will be fully stocked with gorgeous gift and jewellery ideas for the run-up to Christmas.”

To help the business thrive, the owners asked people to share their Facebook post to spread the word about the shops and hopefully reaching more customers.

Customers are asked to go and visit the shops and hopefully find the perfect Christmas present within the shop’s range of products.

People can also shop from Iguazu’s Etsy page or the business’s website.

Neil said: “It is not all doom and gloom, we can make it through this, but Iguazu needs your support to make sure we do.

“Iguazu has got this far doing what we love thanks to you.

“We know many of you love our shops because you tell us every day. With your support right now, we know we can be here in another 20 years’ time.

“I talked to a lot of businesses around the area of the three shops and everyone was saying the exact same thing, nothing is going on.”

Since launching the appeal on October 11, the post had over 800 reactions including shares, likes and comments.

“It is really humbling by everyone’s support, it is still early days but I have noticed more people coming into the shop.

“Sales are still poor but that comes with the state of the economy, it is also a slow process turning a Facebook post into action.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I made the most, but people have been amazing.”

Independent businesses across the market town have been pointing out the lack of footfall, support and customers across Newark.

However, despite the lows of the businesses, some business owners like Hajira Kemari, the owner of Petit Versailles started a late-night shopping on Thursday’s to give customers the chance to shop after work, which she said has increased the sales.