Walk down any high street or through any big shopping centre and the brightly lit signs above each shop will, no doubt, be very familiar — McDonald’s, Next, HMV, Topshop, Marks & Spencer, Carphone Warehouse, to name but a few. Look a little further though, perhaps down a side street or in a quieter corner of the shopping centre, and the picture will be somewhat different. Behind the large multinational chains dominating the high street are thousands of smaller retailers — small businesses you may have never heard of, nor have ever visited.
In the UK, small retailers (employing less than 10 people) account for 93% of all retail businesses; with large retailers accounting for only 0.14%. The latest Office for National Statistics figures (October 2008) show that 89% of all UK enterprises have less than 10 employees, and 98.1% have less than 50 employees. The very largest companies (those with 250+ employees) account for just 0.4% of all UK business enterprises.
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