Viewpoint: Diary of a spectacle designer

Every time I consume news at the moment, I think to myself, ‘grumble, grumble.’ No one seems to have any idea what’s going on. On one side, the UK government has done a fantastic job of supporting business, but in its attempts at herding the general public along, we’ve had more U-turns this past month than you’d find at an experimental toilet factory.

As a result, business is scratching its head and wondering what it should be doing.

Negative as that opening sounds, I’m really rather pleased with everything this month. After I got back from holiday, I set about rebuilding the business and it’s been a very exciting period. Why? Because the pandemic hasn’t bankrupted me for a start – that always helps brighten the mood. In fact, as we moved into September, the company is more profitable now than any time during the past. Sure, that’s because of extreme restructuring and government help – and other factors like our stores not paying business rates, rents linked to turnover and no longer having a factory in China sucking up all of our cash regardless of what we sell is a big bonus. Sales are returning this September – faster than we expected and that’s fantastic.