Butchers heads online

Monday, November 14, 2011 - 09:12 by Paul Tissington

A butchers shop based in Bury St Edmunds is leaving the high street behind and choosing to sell all of its meaty products via safe shopping online.

Barwells Butchers was originally opened over 150 years ago but despite its 19th century heritage it will be closing the doors of its current location on December 24th and taking the e-commerce route for its future retailing endeavours.

Spokesperson, Judy Harper, explained that the motivation behind the move was the fact that the business is looking to remain viable and profitable in the long term and by going online, it is expected to fare much better than if it continued its multichannel approach.

Consumers from across the UK can buy products from Barwells via safe shopping online, which is an audience that it simply cannot reach with bricks and mortar outlets.

Although the shop is being closed for good it will not sack a single member of the 22 strong staff because each has been given a new place working in the e-commerce venture.

Harper said that the butcher deals in over 10,000 items and products, all of which will be available to purchase from its website. This includes local specialities like the St Edmondsbury Purse, which is essentially a local steak inside which you will find a heady mixture of cheese, ale and mustard, which turns into a sauce during the cooking process.

There has been strong support amongst the butchers' customers for this move because although locals are sad that they will no longer be able to pop in when they are visiting town, they appreciate that the business has to move online to survive in a tough climate and there are strong suggestions that it will thrive in this e-commerce environment, according to a report on EADT24.