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A jewellery shop owner has called for free town parking and better French travel links to get more shoppers into town and resolve local retail's woes, as she readies herself to step down from the helm of a 110-year-old family business.
Jane Pearce joined Pearce Jewellers in 1984 after marrying Peter, the grandson of Herbert James Pearce, who opened the shop in 1909.
The couple met when Jane started working at the shop, and have worked together for 35 years. Over the years, all of their five daughters, as well as other family members, have worked in the shop, with their youngest daughter still involved.
With 34 years in retail, Jane has witnessed a lot of change in the industry - “20 years of internet have changed the face of retail, it will never be the same,” she told Express.
Pictured: "20 years of internet have changed the face of retail," Jane Pearce said.
Describing the current state of the industry as “a big and complicated issue”, she said: “The central government has a huge role to play in it anywhere, but particularly in Jersey because we are a small community.”
Jane says that issues with air and sea links, which she describes as unreliable, have a “massive effect” on local retailers. “If you look at day tripping customers, if they don’t get to come, they’re lost, they will never come back. They will stay in St. Malo for the day and St. Malo gets all the business. Good for them, not so much for us.”
The jewellery stalwart added that the government should seek to tackle its “outdated policy of pedestrianisation” as soon as possible. “They should reverse the decisions they have made over the last 30, 40 years,” she explained.
“We shouldn’t be forcing people out of town. The government needs to tune in with modern thinking. Parking is the biggest issue - one that needs to be fixed immediately. The government could literally scrap parking charges overnight.”
Sadly, the shop owner believes that those in the States Assembly lack "life experience" and may not have the expertise to help resolve retail's woes.
Pictured: Two-hours of free parking would encourage more islanders to shop in town, according to Jane.
Jane said she has seen poor decision-making from those without expertise in the area first-hand, and that the retail sector have felt the consequences.
However, she says there are easy ways to reverse the trend. To encourage more islanders to shop in town, Jane says they should get at least two hours of free parking to give them enough time to shop and relax.
“What we want is a positive experience for customers. It’s so simple. It’s a no-brainer solution, but the government keeps looking for complicated routes.”
Despite the well-documented problems for those in the industry, Jane was clear that it was neither the difficult climate in retail, nor a landlord – they own the building – forcing the family out of 3 King Street.
Peter, who is now aged 73, has been trying to retire for the past 10 years but has kept very much involved in the business, Jane explained. Although she is herself only 51, Jane wanted to retire “to spend time” with her husband.
With five daughters, she said the couple had never had time “just the two of us”, adding that they only managed to have their first holiday by themselves 25 years after getting married.
“Somebody made an offer,” Jane explained. “There was a family discussion and none of the children wanted to take over. It is a huge responsibility. We are not in a boom. We are ok, now, but we might not be forever. The trade has an uncertain future.”
Jane said that while all of the children have worked in the shop and enjoyed their time there, they had "other career avenues they wanted to explore". “As a parent you should let your children choose what they want to do forever,” she said.
“Running a shop is a 24-hour job: you live, eat, breathe, sleep, and you never switch off. We are so busy that we have to talk about work at home because it’s the only time we can talk to each other. It’s not really a life."
Was the final decision difficult? "Yes and no," she replies, before adding that it was the right time.
Pictured: Peter Pearce's grandfather opened the shop in 1909.
Nonetheless, Jane says she has very fond memories of her time in the shop, from the many staff members that have worked there to the regular customers. Most of them have shared their own memories of special purchases on the store's Facebook's page - messages that Jane says have brought tears to her eyes.
“It’s a positive decision for us, not so much for our customers who would like us to stay. We just thought we would be a bit selfish for a change. We have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our time here. Retail is like a microcosm of life, you see all of humanity in a shop. I remember serving some of your regular customers, I remember pieces of jewellery and ordering something special for a customer.”
“We want to thank all of our customers,” Jane added. “We sell the product and we open the doors, but we don’t make a shop without customers.”
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