Category: Business News

OXFORDSHIRE businesses are being invited to play a crucial role in a very special event. The county?s longest running youth charity, Oxfordshire Association for Young People (OAYP), is keen to involve local businesses in one of its showcase projects. The Oxfordshire Youth Awards celebrate the many positive and inspiring contributions young people make to our county.

OAYP are already planning their next awards and are looking for local businesses that would like to join them as partners and sponsors.

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In the most recent awards there were six categories: Individual Bravery, Community, Volunteer, Sports, Arts and the Jake Spicer Special Recognition Awards. More than three hundred young people and family members attended the celebration event at Oxford Town Hall. This year OAYP hope that each of the categories will have an individual business backer.

The Chairman of the Associations? Trustees, Sir Charles Ponsonby, says: ?The Oxfordshire Youth Awards give a sponsoring business a low cost opportunity to associate – before, during and after the Awards – with something which generates general approbation: excellence, altruism and strength of character amongst the County?s young people.?

The Awards are the most high profile of the Associations? initiatives to support young people in the county, and help them realise their potential as individuals and as part of the community.

Based at the Jennings-owned Boundary Park in Garsington, OAYP has been running for 63 years, and is a big supporter of youth groups across the county. It provides sport, leisure and learning resources for 56 youth groups countywide run by a total of 500 volunteers and attended by more than 2,000 young people per year. OAYP also offers guidance on policy, rules and regulations.

Director Paul Lawrence said: ?With public sector funding cuts affecting both ourselves and the groups we support this is a very challenging time. We understand that local businesses are facing tough times too but wanted to raise awareness of the opportunity to involve themselves and their staff in something that makes a huge difference in the county. Our landlords Jennings have been great both in terms of funding support and advice and mentoring, and we?re keen to build on that by developing partnership with other local businesses.?

The Boundary at Garsington is home to ten companies employing more than 50 people between them. It is part of the Jennings family of business centres which also includes Monument Park, Chalgrove and retail units in Thame.

MARKET town businesses looking to promote themselves further are being encouraged to go along to a special networking event next month, to discover new ways to reach new customers, how work with other local businesses and how to play a bigger role in helping to boost their local economy.

The focus of the event will be to help businesses better demonstrate what they are doing, as a way of helping them bring in new business and further strengthen existing relationships.

During the morning those attending will get the chance to hear presentations about how to go about telling other people about their particular business, how they can work collaboratively to build partnerships, how they can be involved in advancing business in their town and how they can use new media to help reach new and existing customers.

The event, which is free to attend, will take place at Cornerstone, 25 Station Road, Didcot, on Monday, March 21, between 7.30am and 12.30pm.

If you are interested in attending please go to LINK for further details or email caroline.wood@southandvale.gov.uk. Or simply join in the conversation at: LINK

ON Wednesday, February 23, local businesses are invited to attend two hours of free guidance about promotional opportunities in a fast changing world.

TEAM Tourism and South Oxfordshire District Council have put together an informative, fun afternoon with plenty of opportunities for group discussions and sharing of ideas. From 2 ? 4 pm we?ll cover:

www.visitsouthoxfordshire.co.uk –
making it work for you ? and are the mobiles tracking you down?

the Midsomer Murders website ? films and photos, how the TV show is helping to boost South Oxfordshire

how to use Flickr and You Tube for your business
Social media and User Generated Content

Tripadvisor, Facebook, Twitter ? what?s the point?

an update on some fast growing overseas markets and national campaigns

writing to the papers – how to communicate with journalists, and avoid common mistakes.

To book your place please contact Jenny at tourism@southoxon.gov.uk or call 01491 823421.

This event will be held in the Council Chamber at South Oxfordshire District Council offices, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8QX.

SOURCE: Press release

THE highly successful and widely used iPhone app, released last year as the world?s first town based iPhone app, is now live in a new and updated version, exactly one year ithame was launched.

Based on local user feedback and comments via the app from people that have downloaded it across the UK, ithame has been revamped for the local people by a local web and mobile specialists, Adactus Ltd.

Adactus has vastly improved the look and feel of the app and enhanced the business directory allowing more information on our local businesses to be provided to residents and visitors.

Commenting on the new app, ithame developer, Andy McDonald, said: ?I am delighted to have used a Thame based company to build all the features that Thame people have requested. Adactus has built systems for major companies such as Pizza Hut, Whitbread and Aviva and now they have redesigned our local app. I am anticipating that most businesses in Thame will sign up to ithame given the investment that has gone into our local mobile information directory as well as a reduced cost of joining.?

THAME’S town centre’s customer facing businesses are being invited to take part in a proposed Loyalty Card scheme, to help maintain and build on the town’s vibrant retail offer.

The Loyalty Card scheme is one of the 21st Century Thame Partnership’s projects awarded SEEDA funding to support economic development of the town. The scheme has the backing of many of the local, independent businesses, many of whom attended a recent meeting to decide on the type of scheme to launch in Thame.

The scheme decided upon is based on a plastic card that shoppers will pay a nominal fee of

AN Oxfordshire business training company says it?s more than doubling the size of its next open courses programme, to support local business as it emerges from the downturn.

The Learning Ladder has announced thirty one open training courses in its programme for the first half of 2011, compared with 15 in the series just completed. The programme focuses on four key areas for business: finance, sales & marketing, people, and operations. There are full details at: www.tlltraining.co.uk

MD Karyn Buck says: ?We?ve taken extensive soundings from our customers, both on the scale of the programme, and on what we?ve included. They?ve encouraged us to extend the range of courses and to make many more available. At a time when the Institute of Directors is saying that skills shortages are shackling firms, we want to offer businesses in Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties as wide a range of training opportunities as we can.?

In a recent skills survey, the Institute of Directors revealed that the growth of nearly 60 per cent of businesses is being held back by a lack of skills in the wider workforce and among existing employees. In particular it found that 47 per cent of directors surveyed said that some of their organisation?s employees lacked the skills needed to do their job to the required level. It also found that, during the recession, employers maintained a robust commitment to training, debunking the myth that the training budget is always first to be cut in a downturn.

All the courses will be run from training facilities at Hampden House on the Jennings-owned Monument Park at Chalgrove in Oxfordshire. The Learning Ladder is partnering with Jennings to run a FREE taster series of courses to introduce customers to the programme. This will include 90-minute workshops on social media, NLP and international trade.

A district-wide partnership has asked for nearly

SENIOR figures from high profile businesses in Oxfordshire, including ByBox, Harley Davidson, and 106JACKfm, are among a strong speaker line-up for OxFocus 2011.

This high profile speaker/networking event for Oxfordshire business is to run again in 2011 after last year’s successful launch. The 2011 speaker agenda also features a strong technology/research focus with Force India F1, Oxford NutraScience plc, Oxford Advanced Surfaces plc, Europa Oil and Gas plc, Westminster Group plc, and the Sa

ADDED 13/01/11 – FOLLOW the LINK to see Thame retailer, Yvette Cundy’s interview with Sky News, when Sky’s live news programme was filmed from Thame market on Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A QUICK straw poll among Thame’s independent retailers today, 12/01/11 indicates that the severe wintry weather that hit their sales on, what should have been the busiest pre-Christmas shopping day, the Saturday before, actually benefited many of them.

One of the biggest threats to independent retailers in towns like Thame have been the large, all-encompassing shopping centres like those in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Bicester and Oxford. But it seems that local publicity to encourage people to shop locally, and the worst snow and ice for years preventing any buses from running, may have persuaded many people not to attempt to drive out of town to do their Christmas shopping.

“On the day after the heavy snow fall, Sunday, December 19, the town seemed really busy,” said Christian Winslade, of Fore Golf. “There was a real buzz about the town and we were really busy in the shop all day. It was as if people had been putting off Christmas shopping and suddenly realised that they had better get on with it, and come into town. I would say that compared with the same period last year, we were up on our takings.”

The economic downturn it seems, has had little effect on couples deciding whether or not to wed in 2011. Christian said that, whereas this time last year, Fore Golf would have possibly one wedding hiring booked (they hire out dinner suits, top hats etc) they already has five for 2011.

Pet Care in Cornmarket, Thame, reported that they had experienced the best December for years and Kismet Jewellers too, said that they had achieved more sales than anticipated. Yvette Cundy said: “We certainly benefited from last minute present shoppers and I am sure that the weather contributed to our customers shopping locally rather than venturing out to the bigger town centres.”

The gift and card shop, All Wrapped Up, which moved to larger premises in Buttermarket earlier in the month, reported a “tremendous” December, and the proprietor of the lingerie shop too reported that sales were up on last year, noting that her customers were mostly her regulars spending more, rather than new customers.

The Thatch restaurant and pub, in the High Street, lost 60 bookings over that snow-bound weekend, but according to Manager, Frazer Sutherland, they more than made up for it in fresh bookings during the week that followed in the run up to Christmas itself.

So, whilst many of Thame’s independent retailers seem to have survived 2010, the rise in VAT and other cuts that will begin to hit in the next couple of months, mean that they are not complacent and will continue to add value to what they have to offer, to concentrate on the great customer service they are known for, and continue to fight for the Thame pound.

ADVERTISING FEATURE – A unit has become available on the most recent industrial development in Thame.

This most attractive corner unit is now available, following the restructuring of the current tenant?s business. The accommodation provides a warehouse of approximately 12,400 sq ft plus modern and fully-fitted Offices of around 4,800 sq ft.

There are a host of tenant?s improvements to entice a new occupier, including air-conditioning and carefully planned Warehouse lighting and heating.

It is unusual for a building of this quality to become offered in the market, with its prominent location and excellent car parking.

For full details, contact the agent, Fields, on 01844 261121, email holi@fields-property.co.uk or website:
http://www.fields-property.com/