Stallholder Application Information

Transcription

1 All applicants must read thoroughly even if you have traded at the event before. Welcome to the application process for the 2018 Bath Christmas Market. This document provides guidelines to assist with completing the application. It also outlines the criteria used when assessing applications and some general information relating to the event and operations. Bath Christmas Market is managed and operated by Visit Bath, the Destination Marketing Organisation for the City of Bath and the surrounding area. Founded in 2001 Bath Christmas Market has grown in size and duration over the past 18 years and has established itself as one of the busiest and most popular Christmas markets in the South West. Customers enjoy the festive atmosphere and the quality and variety of products on offer. Visit Bath are committed and dedicated to achieving the following key event objectives. To continue to be a market leader in the management and execution of a British Christmas Market and to maintain the benchmark for which others aim to aspire to. To engage with local makers and businesses and to offer growth and exposure opportunities within an awardwinning visitor event in the South West. To continue to provide an economic boost to Bath, by attracting visitors both repeat and new by offering a visitor experience to cherish whilst maintaining the classic quality brand that is Bath. To showcase Bath Christmas Market and all that the city has to offer attracting media interest nationally and internationally, giving more reasons to talk about the city was a very successful year for the event. It created a platform for over 225 local and regional businesses to showcase their products to an audience from across the country. We are delighted that The National Outdoor Events Association, the UK s leading outdoor events trade association, awarded the 2017 NOEA Event of the Year Award to winner: Bath Christmas Market the judges praised the event saying it was the best of Bath, well produced and internationally attractive, setting standards for other Christmas markets Bath Christmas Market is situated in a spectacular location between The Roman Baths and Bath Abbey and the city centre. It is the centre piece for Bath at Christmas, joining Bath on Ice and the famous Bath Abbey Shoppers Carols. The results of our visitor survey state that in ,000 people attended the market over the 18-day period spending approximately 8.1m within the market and 21m throughout the city, an increase of +40% compared with Bath Christmas Market 2018 According to our 2017 Visitor Survey visitor satisfaction levels with their whole Bath Christmas Market experience were high and increased across the board compared with the 2016 market. Visitors especially enjoyed the range and quality of stalls we had to offer, the improved site decoration along with the entertainment and festive atmosphere we all work hard to create. We were delighted that our new footprint and site lay out, introduced in 2017 with chalets located in Southgate Street, Union Street and Hot Bath Street, greatly enhanced the overall visitor experience as they found it easier to get around the site and increasing dwell time in the market itself. 1 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018

2 For 2018 we are proposing to extend the footprint further and locate chalets in another prime city centre shopping location Milsom Street for the 18-day duration. We have therefore applied to Bath and North East Somerset Council for planning and licensing consent. PLEASE REFER TO THE EVENT SITE PLAN. We are proposing to close the road from the top of Milsom Street to just before where it meets Quiet Street. This will create a pedestrianised area where shoppers can browse through the chalets, enjoy the festive entertainment and catering. From our research we already know that visitors to the market go to Milsom Street to do other shopping so we are confident that footfall will be strong. By including Milsom Street as part of the market we can; Further enhance visitor and resident experience of the event by extending the footprint and easing congestion. Support Bath Abbey Footprint Project. Support The Roman Baths Archway Project Make way for essential road repairs To further engage with independent businesses throughout the city This will transform Bath once again into the Christmas Capital of the South West. The event will host over 165 wooden chalets provided by the event organisers. The application process you are about to take part in is to apply to hire one of these chalets for the event period. Dates of Bath Christmas Market 2018 Thursday 22nd November to Sunday 9th December 2018* (*Milsom Street area is subject to Bath Christmas Market 2018 Bath and North East Somerset Council Planning & Licensing consent) What your chalet rental cost includes The chalets are purpose-built timber temporary structures. There are three different chalet designs which are counter top, barn door or our new style corner chalet. The new corner chalets are situated at various corner pitches throughout the site. Panels can be removed completely to give two open sides. Please see the different chalet type images below. Chalet Design Corner Chalet (Option 1) Leave in bottom panels to create a countertop style chalet Corner Chalets (2m x 2m with a roof extension of 0.5m) Countertop Chalet Barn Door Chalet Both Countertop and Barn Door styles of units are the same size, approximately: 7 5 width x 5 0 depth (2.26m x 1.49m). 2 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018 Corner Chalet (Option 2) Remove sides to have an open chalet on both sides. Corner Chalets (2m x 2m with a roof extension of 0.5m)

3 What your chalet rental cost includes (continued) Each chalet has an electricity supply box fitted with two standard domestic plug sockets. Total power supply to each chalet is 1,100 watts. Electricity usage will be monitored by our electricians so all stallholders must stay within this consumption limit. Failure to do so may result in power failure. Electricity to chalets is inclusive within the rent, however, we do not allow any heat-producing electrical appliances such as fan heaters or hot water kettles. This is both because of their high electricity consumption and of the increased fire risk they create. We will have a limited number of heaters available for hire at the cost of 5.00 per day, a total of 90 (+vat) for the 18-day duration of the market. If you wish to request a heater, please indicate on the application form that you would like one and if your application is successful we will send you an invoice to be paid by BACS. Please also note that the power consumption for the heater is included in and not additional to your designated power supply. The heat output per heater is 0.5 kilo watts. Please note with cold weather conditions and open chalet doors output may be even further reduced. All electrical equipment must have a PAT (Portable Appliance Test) certificate, unless you can demonstrate that it is brand new with receipts of purchase. You will not be permitted to use any untested equipment within your chalet/on site. We will have qualified electricians on site during the build of the event who can carry out PAT testing of your appliances for a charge of 7 (+vat) per item. If the event electricians deem any electrical items to be unsafe or not fit for purpose, they will be condemned, and further use prevented. PAT Testing invoices require immediate payment by BACS before the event ends. Naked flames, candles etc are not permitted as part of your display or anywhere in your chalet without the permission of the Event Organisers and subject to an onsite risk assessment. Event Management Support Bath Christmas Market has an experienced event team who oversee the planning, delivery and management of the event. They will provide you with regular updates via newsletters and conduct all administration and financial support as well as providing information and guidance by and phone during the planning stages. Membership of Visit Bath We will be offering successful Bath Christmas Market Stallholders an exclusive Associate Membership. This will give stallholders access to some Visit Bath membership benefits plus the opportunity to further promote their business as they see appropriate through our very successful Visit Bath marketing channels. You will be contacted by our Membership Team after we receive your acceptance of a chalet at this year s event. Marketing and Publicity Bath Christmas Market is extensively promoted to ensure we receive consistently high visitor numbers. As well as the overall marketing campaign we offer successful stallholders many marketing benefits. In print successful stallholders can be listed in our event guide free of charge. In ,000 brochures were produced and distributed. 3 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018

4 Successful stallholders will also be given a free web listing on The stallholder listing with image includes up to 30 words of general stallholder information and some stallholder contact details. Only website listings which are accompanied with suitable images will be uploaded onto the website. The following statistics and coverage show the success of the 2017 Marketing and Media campaigns surrounding Bath Christmas Market. It demonstrates the impact of the strategies adopted by Visit Bath to ensure footfall figures continue throughout the market. Extensive coverage across ABC1 titles, online and broadcast media. New enhanced Bath Christmas Market Website (400,000 users). Facebook: 65,148 Likes (increase of 28% vs 2016) Twitter: 6,868 followers Instagram: 5,326 followers (increase off 84% vs 2016) Bath Christmas Market video (1.1 million reach). Vogue s Eight Favourite Christmas Markets in the UK featured Bath Christmas Market (3.6 million reach). The Selection Process Please be aware that applications from stallholders will only be considered if they are accompanied by a detailed description and photographs of the items (or exact product samples) that are intended to be sold. Any product items or photographs you wish to be returned must have appropriate packing and postage fee supplied with the application. Please note that this also includes repeat stallholders. Any product samples that are not collected will be donated to a local charity. Please ensure that the description of your product in the application form is clear and concise and does not exceed the 30-word limit. This will be used for web descriptions for all successful applicants. Both new and repeat stallholder applicants will be considered on equal terms against the evaluation criteria. We had fantastic feedback from customers and stallholders in 2017 on the great product mix available and we intend to continue this for The retail quality, exclusivity, uniqueness and mix of products on offer at Bath Christmas Market plays an important role in the overall appeal of the event and is something that Visit Bath continues to work hard at maintaining. The following criteria will be considered when looking at stallholder applications. Locality We are dedicated to supporting local businesses. In 2017 over 80 % of stallholder businesses were based in Bath and North East Somerset and in the South West Region. All other criteria being equal, stallholders from Bath and North East Somerset are given priority over those coming from further afield. We will cross reference the address you provide with information stored at Companies House. 4 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018

5 Handmade Products that are handmade by the stallholder will score higher than those that are manufactured or handmade abroad. All items made abroad must be produced under fairtrade conditions and evidence of this should be provided. Please ensure you give a detailed description on how and where your products are made. We would also like a description of where your materials are sourced. Retail mix It is important to the event to ensure that there is a wide range of product types across the whole market. We are always looking for new and innovative products to be sold at the event. Certain product categories, for example Jewellery and Food and Drink retailers, are always oversubscribed categories. In this instance assessments will be made on their uniqueness, exclusivity and their quality. They may also be benchmarked against other applicants in the same category. Product Range We will also take into consideration the range of products you wish to sell. Your product range must correlate to the retail mix you have selected. For example, if you sell Jewellery plus accessories you must declare both items on your application form. In 2017 we will be performing random checks and any stallholder found selling items not declared on their application form will be asked to remove them immediately, especially if this conflicts with another stallholder s product range in the vicinity. All products sold must comply with our Animal Welfare Policy 2018 a copy of which is included in the stallholder Information pack ed to applicants and also on our website Customer profile Ensuring that across the market there are products on offer to appeal to different genders and age ranges. Quality Products need to be finished to a high standard. They must meet manufacturing standards and may need to be approved by Trading Standards. Price range We are looking for a range of variously priced products so that customers with all budgets can satisfy their Christmas shopping needs. (The application form asks to state minimum and maximum prices of your products). Suitability at Bath Bath has a huge variety of top quality retailers located within the city centre. Stallholders at the Christmas Market should be able to offer something different and unique to compliment what is already on offer on the high street. There are also certain types of product which would not be deemed acceptable for trade at this market. 5 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018

6 Supervision, Security and Stewarding The Christmas Market is supervised and monitored by event stewards, security and site management who have worked on the event for a number of years. We have overnight staffing provisions to oversee the security of chalets and event infrastructure. During the event operational phases, the event stewarding team will be present and able to assist where necessary. You will also be issued with an event control contact telephone number in the event that you require further assistance. All calls and information are logged. Event staff will be on hand at all times to help stallholders with any practical problems and to offer advice and assistance as maybe required. Previous performance at Bath Christmas Market In 2017 we attracted 409,000 visitors to Bath Christmas Market. In response to visitor and resident feedback it is important that we keep the product mix at the event varied, new and exciting. Due to the high volume of applications we receive we cannot guarantee that if you are a previous stallholder at Bath Christmas Market that you will be offered a chalet each year. If as a previous stallholder, bond rules have been broken this will be considered. Rental Charges and Payments Please refer to the attached application form for full details on charges and payment. If you wish to request a specific pitch, you can do so by selecting the pitch request tick box identifying the pitch number on the application form and paying an additional fee of either 200 (+vat) or 250 (+vat) depending on location. You can select up to two chalet numbers 1st and 2nd preference (both are subject to a pitch request fee). If you put any chalet number or any chalet number range in the box, we will assume that this is a pitch request and will be subject to the appropriate pitch request fee. This includes short term lets on Bath Street regardless of duration of let. *NB. You can specify one of the two zones at no cost which states your preferred zone location but does not guarantee a specific chalet location. We will try our best to accommodate all pitch requests but due to the popularity of certain pitches and areas we cannot guarantee this. If your application is successful you will receive an offer letter with bank details and instructions on how to pay your deposit to secure your chalet. Future payments will be requested by BACS. Please do not send cheques. Short Term Lets As well as accepting applications for hire of chalets for the 18-day duration of the event, there are also short term let opportunities available. These short lets are an opportunity for small start-up businesses to test the market for the first seven, eleven or eighteen days of the event. All short term let chalets are situated in Bath Street. Please note successful applications for seven and eleven day lets will take priority over eighteen day lets in this dedicated short term let area. If your preference is to participate in the event for 18 days, we recommend you consider other areas within zone 1 and Zone 2 just in case we cannot accommodate you for the full 18-day period in Bath Street. Please make this clear on your application form or Christmas_market@bathtourism.co.uk 6 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018

7 Short Term Lets (continued) If you would like to request a specific pitch in Bath Street an additional 200 plus vat is payable regardless of duration of let. Please note that due to the high demand and number of applications we receive, we are only able to accept one application per business or organisation. We will not be issuing two chalets to any one business. Dates and opening hours The 2018 Bath Christmas Market will run for 18 days, the operational days are Thursday 22nd November Sunday 9th December 2018* (*Milsom Street area is subject to Bath Christmas Market 2018 Bath and North East Somerset Planning & Licensing consent) Daily trading times will be as follows: Monday Wednesday: hours Thursday Saturday: hours Sunday: hours Expectations from Stallholders The Christmas Market site comprises of over 165 wooden chalets built temporarily for conducting Bath Christmas Market. Please be advised that the chalets are temporary structures and due to the historic infrastructure and contour of the city it is not always possible to alter the construction or positioning of the chalet. Your patience and understanding with this is appreciated. If, due to the type of products you sell, your chalet requires additional build work over and above other stallholders, you may have to bring your own tradesman onsite. We will be providing successful stallholders with a detailed Chalet Dimensions Plan to assist with planning the decoration of your chalet. The cooperation of all stallholders is required to achieve an optimal overall appearance and atmosphere of the Market. Every stallholder is responsible for lighting and decorating their own chalets, which must be done in a tasteful and attractive manner. All lighting both internal and external must be LED (white fairy lights ONLY are permitted as decoration). *Note that only 1,100 watts of electricity will be provided, via two domestic style sockets. All chalets must have festive décor and exterior lighting. All shelving, extra tables, lighting, and anything else required to display merchandise to best effect is the stallholder s responsibility. No shelving, temporary structures or display stands are permitted outside of the footprint of any chalet - this is particularly relevant to those stallholders with Countertop Chalets and chalets positioned at the end of rows. As well as this, the organisers do not permit any additional temporary structures to be in positioned anywhere outside of your chalet. You must keep within the footprint of your chalet. No building out from or alterations to the existing external structure of the chalets is permitted. Any medium to large decorative fixings on roofs must be submitted for approval prior to erection and have prior consent from the events team. All decorative fixings must be deemed safe and fit for purpose. Chalet Sign and Pitch Number The chalet name must be situated underneath the apex of the chalet and must only state the chalet name no advertising banners are permitted. Sign dimensions will be included in your Chalet Dimensions Plan. 7 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018

8 Expectations from Stallholders (continued) Individual Stallholder Offers and Discounts Due to the nature of the event, we do not allow advertised end of event and blatant discounted offers. If you wish to offer discounts, these should be done discretely with customers rather than positioning signs and banners. Any such signs will be removed by the Event Organisers. Local Residents Evening We intend to host a residents evening on Wednesday 21st November so that residents can come along before visitors and preview what the market has on offer. Stallholders must have their chalets open and ready by 5pm without exception. You will be permitted to trade between the hours of 5pm and 7pm only. Local Residents Discounts As part of our on-going commitment to the local residents of Bath we ask for 2018 that every stallholder offers some form of discount or offer to them. This does not need to be in the form of a financial discount but must offer local residents (on production of a Discovery Card) incentive to visit the event. This offer will run Monday Friday from 1000 hours to close of the event on each of these days. We hope that this will encourage more of the local residents who accommodate the event every year to enjoy the event. Sale of Alcohol Please note that if you intend to sell alcohol, you will need to obtain your own Premises License if your application is successful. Evidence of your Premises License will be required at least 28 days before event opening. Failure to obtain your own Premises License will mean you are unable to trade. Please note that alcohol is only permitted to be sold in sealed containers for consumption off-site. No open glasses or bottles are permitted to be sold. Samples are permitted to be given away, along with the correct Premises License for the sale of alcohol, with permission from the organisers. Feedback Please be advised the events team cannot hold individual meetings to discuss applications or comment on product samples with applicants. If your application is unsuccessful we are unable to offer individual feedback so please accept that the decision of the selection panel is final. Please remember to enclose SAE so that we can return your samples safely to you. If you do not collect or arrange collection of the samples you provide with your application we will donate them to a local charity. If you have any queries regarding the application process, please do not hesitate to contact us on or christmas_market@bathtourism.co.uk. Many thanks and we look forward to receiving your application. Mick Heath and Lynsay Redwood The Bath Christmas Market Event Team *Milsom Street site plan is subject to approval from Bath and North East Somerset Licensing Committee. 8 of 8 Bath Christmas Market 2018