Five Minutes With… B&V Trading, Stanley Square, Sale

In the latest in our series of Five Minutes With…, where we put the spotlight on local businesses, we caught up with Rob Benson, who left his job in fashion retail and fulfilled a business idea fuelled by his obsession with dogs – B&V Trading.  

SALE TODAY: Tell us a bit about your background

ROB BENSON: In terms of my career, my background is in fashion retail – after I left university, I was a buyer for Lacoste and I then worked for Vivienne Westwood, before moving to work for the same brand but within Selfridges. However, I have always been obsessed with dogs, so it’s no surprise that B&V Trading – inspired by the labrador we had when I was growing up – came about!

ST: Tell us a bit about your business

RB: B&V Trading started at Altrincham Market eight or so years ago now, the team behind the market – Nick Johnson and Jenny Thompson – encouraged me to grow my business there and things have developed since then. During the pandemic, we were of course forced to close the stall at the market and thought ‘where are we going to put all our stuff?’ Plus we knew dog owners would still be looking for tips to feed and train their dogs, even though we were all in lockdown. And that’s when we started looking for another site and eventually chose Sale, my home town. 

ST: How did you arrive in Stanley Square? 

RB: We started as a pop-up initially; we had a conversation over Zoom with the Square’s property agents and we could really understand the vision for the area. We truly believed in their desire to bring a greater community feel to the town centre again, so we immediately got completely on board with it. 

ST: How has business been for your Sale shop? 

RB: Honestly, it’s delivering better than we first thought. When we first opened, it was the run-up to Christmas and we didn’t know if we would be in or out of lockdown again, so fewer people were out and about shopping. It was a slow start and I did think “it’s not going to happen”, but gradually people got interested in what we were offering and more people chose to shop locally. 

This is probably really cheesy, but we don’t think of our customers as customers – we see them as friends and it is our job as giving dog owners the help and advice they need to ensure that their dogs are as healthy and happy as possible. We have built a real presence in Sale since opening and we now know so many of local dogs’ favourite treats without being told! Opening the Sale shop during the pandemic was probably a bit of a mad decision, but at that time more people were working from home – therefore spending more time with their dogs – and also there was a huge rise in first-time dog owners, many of whom realised what a responsibility dog ownership is and therefore needed our advice. 

ST: As a business owner, how do you assess Sale as a long-term prospect?

RB: We’re in this for the long haul. In terms of planning for the future, I’m not going to pretend: I honestly don’t think about it too much! In my opinion, given all the bad news we’re hearing at the moment, if you try to plan something or predict the future, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and won’t expand and grow. I’m just going to continue doing what we do at B&V and carry on stocking and promoting local makers as much as we can. 

ST: What are you most looking forward to for Sale in the next 12 months? 

RB: I’m sure I’m not the only Stanley Square-based business to say this, but I’m most looking forward to the building work being finished! I am also interested to see how Christmas goes this year, as last year was a bit of an odd one. This year, it will be really interesting to see the impact Christmas has on local businesses and whether the local community continues to shop in the town centre. I really hope people get behind their independent businesses –after all, if they don’t use us, we are less likely to be here next Christmas.  

ST: You live in Sale – how has the town’s vibe changed for you as a resident in the last 12 months? 

RB: Hugely – to be completely honest, before lockdown, I only came into Sale town centre for the Post Office and occasionally to shop at Sainsbury’s. It just didn’t deliver as a place I wanted to spend my downtime. I used to prefer to spend time in Altrincham, or the city centre. My perspective has completely changed now; whereas before there wasn’t much to attract us, last week alone we ate out in Sale four times, at four different places. And that’s not just in Stanley Square – I’m talking about Sale town centre as a whole. 

ST: What’s your favourite thing about Sale? 

RB: The people; I genuinely think people have become more open and sociable since that first lockdown. Previously on our dog walks, people hardly ever said hello – now, perhaps due to people recognising us from B&V – people are much happier to stop and have a chat. I love that! 

Join B&V for a brand new monthly dog walk around Sale

Rob and the B&V team are set to kickstart a brand new community dog walk, starting on 2nd October 2022. 

To join them, simply head over to B&V Trading in Stanley Square for a 9.30am start. The walk will last approximately one hour and will take place on the first Sunday of the month from then onwards. 🐾

For more information about B&V Trading, visit bandvtrading.com, or pop into the shop (Stanley Square, Sale M33 7XZ). You can also follow @bandvtrading on Instagram. 

Sale shop opening times: Monday-Friday, 10am-5.30pm | Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm | Sunday 10am-4pm 

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Are you a local business in Sale who would like to be put under the ‘Five Minutes With…’ spotlight? Email us, sale@todaynews.co.uk and we could be in touch for a chat!