Reflecting on the past year, it was a time of conflicting circumstances. We found consumers became less tolerant with each lockdown, but the majority of people were great. Stock supplies in all sectors has been a bigger issue than previous years, with companies having problems with overseas factories not working to full capacity. Shipping has suffered due to COVID and it is getting expensive, as there are not enough ships in service due to lockdowns and staffing issues.
This past year has been very challenging with all these issues, plus transport strikes, fuel increases and lack of consistency with trading restrictions, and online has been another issue we have had to deal with.
On the positive side our local community has been fantastic and supported us brilliantly; most people want to see the small towns survive and are very supportive. We cannot thank them enough for supporting us the way they have.
Looking ahead to next year, we hope that there will be no more lockdowns and we can get back to some sort of normality, and we can all get on with having a less stressful life with family and friends.
Hope we all have a healthy and prosperous year ahead and the worst is over.
Lou Ciavarella
Ciavarellas Betta Home Living
