Vape Stores Set for a Grand Reopening
Stay calm everyone. The day is finally here
Vape stores reopening across the UK is news that was met with a warm welcome. Especially when you rewind back to March – the coronavirus pandemic forces vape shops to close throughout the UK, causing quite a panic for shop owners. “How will we survive closing our doors?”, some owners asked themselves, whilst others prepared for the immediate future by setting up click ‘n’ collect or local delivery services where possible. Online retailers and distros were able to carry on doing business as usual – meaning it was always going to be the smaller stores with no means of e-commerce that would suffer the most.
A testing time for everyone indeed – especially when you consider an industry like vaping thrives on the vibe you get from local stores; it is such a social experience. When you walk in you are made feel welcome by helpful staff, who are happy to recommend you the best vape solution for your personal taste.
How are we in June already?
Fast forward to June, Vape stores all across the UK are getting prepared for a grand reopening this month on Monday the 15th – with the lockdown starting to ease and some normality restored.
John Dunne, director at UKVIA spoke with joy about the news,
“Our members, together with the industry as a whole, will be delighted that shops will be able to reopen from the 15 June as it will enable them to give the critical support to their customers, and be a boost to the whole supply chain.”
A great day for the vape community indeed – it is great to finally start to approach some normality in the industry (and the world) once more. But it will not happen overnight, and the rules need to be followed closely to ensure everyone’s safety.
The last thing anyone wants is to see a spike in the infection rates now at this stage (when we nearly have the worst of it over!). Long gone will be the good old days where you could simply just walk on into the shop at your leisure, plant yourself down and start tasting samples with no concerns.
IBVTA guidance – how to open your store safely
Any vape shops that may be looking more guidance on how they can reopen their doors safely, IBVTA have issued a guidance document. This document can be requested via email and is free for IBVTA members and a £50 charge to non-members. The document has been shared and approved by Public Health and Business Ministers – but there is a strong emphasis made on they should only open their doors when the correct measures are taken, and all guidelines are obeyed.
“It is vital that if vape businesses prepare to re-open stores, they do so having in place the correct measures & procedures to protect their staff members and customers, and following all government guidance. The IBVTA recommends that stores must only re-open once the best practises outlined in this document are in place, allowing a safe environment for staff to work in and customers to shop in.” – IBVTA
What we are doing to help
Find a stockist map
One of the leading features of our newly launched website is our find a stockist map, helping your store to be found as an official Ohm Brew stockist. Anyone who lands on their page will be able to see what stockists are in their area, hopefully driving some foot-flow to your store as a result.
New Promotions and Media Pack Access
As of June 12th, we will be running a special offer to celebrate the reopening of stores throughout the UK! What better way to open your doors to the public than with some more margins? Keep an eye out for more details as they unfold… and remember you can always check out the B2B Partners section of our site for current offers and other Ohm Brew announcements. Not only that, but remember there’s also media pack access where you can find bottle renders, flavour descriptions, banners and catalogue (more resources to follow). Helping stores to promote our brand better is key for us as an e-liquid manufacturer.
Customer Deepdives Feature
It helps us to help our customers, which is exactly why we want to feature your business on our social channels – get in touch today if you would like to be showcased.
Good luck to all stores!
Good luck to all our partner stores on your reopening – hope it goes well for each and everyone one of you!
