THE co-owner of a gift shop had told of the difficulties of running a retailer during a pandemic.

Aga Gabrysiak of the Highworth Emporium, has managed the high street shop for the last four years with Richard Marsden.

But 2020 posed new challenges that they managed to overcome with some quick thinking and a lot of support from loyal shoppers.

That support will be crucial for them and other independent businesses in the area to stay afloat over the holidays.

Aga said: “We finished our website during the first lockdown, which helped a lot during the second because we had a lot of people buying things online.

“The second lockdown did not feel as bad because we could still do click-and-collect.

“We started doing more on social media to engage with customers with messages and giveaways and remind them we’re still around.

“People queued outside on our first day of reopening and our takings were double that of the same day last year, which is encouraging, and it’s been nice to see so many familiar faces.

“It’s been difficult and next year will be challenging but we are staying as positive as possible.”

Things have returned to some sort of normal, with their popular Christmas room open again and a traffic-light system at the front door indicating whether the shop’s nooks and crannies are too full of customers for more shoppers to enter.

North Swindon MP and regular customer Justin Tomlinson visited to show his support for the shop and other local retailers on Small Business Saturday.

Mr Tomlinson said: “It’s never been more important to support Small Business Saturday than this year.

“Local businesses, particularly retailers, have had a torrid 2020 and we all need to step up and support local shops wherever possible. That is vital for the economy and for jobs.

“I’m delighted to personally support the Highworth Emporium. We are longstanding customers ever since buying balloons for my 40th birthday here.

“We feel so much admiration for the variety of innovative ways they have kept trading during such unprecedented and difficult times.

“My daughter Margot is a big fan of the teddies and backpacks. The shop is so well-loved because of its fantastic customer service and broad range of products, so it’s great to see it fully reopened.”