Green Ginger | Corsham Town Council

Green Ginger

We make time to listen to customers, and our team are amazingly caring…

Shop Details

There was so much love for Green Ginger (a health food shop on the High Street for some 20 years) that when the previous owners were ready to retire there were attempts to put a local co-operative together to buy it. But love and enthusiasm and willing volunteers were not going to cut it for this busy store – it needed someone to take the lead. And that’s where ex-teacher and retail newbie Gulliver Grisbrooke-Campbell stepped in. We caught up with him at number 34.

How did you start in this business?

Do you mean was it brave or foolhardy? It started with a bit of both, probably! There was so much enthusiasm for the store and, when I saw it needed someone to take it on quite urgently, I made a lot of enquiries, checked it was financially viable and made my pitch. That was in 2021. The first six months’ work were probably the most stressful thing I have ever done, partly because I didn’t know what I was doing – suppliers would come in and I didn’t even know who they were. But it was also stressful because of the changes and updates I planned. When I made downstairs entirely vegan, I think some people thought there would be one lettuce head we could all weep around! And of course I was learning on the job. Thankfully the amazing staff I inherited have got behind what we are doing and go beyond their brief to help people who come in.

“I think people have come to trust the process of shopping here. The fact we listen hard and are hyper honest about what products could work for them has given customers faith in us…”

Who does come in?

I think people come to my shop when things aren’t going amazingly. When they’re ill and need remedies, when they’re stressed and need empathy. Stress and sleep problems are the most common issues we see. But we make time to listen, and our team are amazingly caring, gently working to try to find out the reasons behind the ailment. Listening to them helps them and helps us identify remedies. Staff also connect customers to other organisations who might be able to offer support.

Does that approach work financially?

With independents like ours it's about the experience as well as the products. You're matching a sales drive with a desire to give people a good experience and the encouragement to come back again. It's a balance between what works right now and an investment in the long-term sustainability of the business. Sometimes people do take the advice and then ask if they can get it cheaper online, say at Amazon. I get that as we're going through a cost-of-living crisis, and you have to hope they will come back anyway. But I think people have come to trust the process of shopping here. The fact we listen hard and are hyper honest about what products could work for them gives them faith in us. And it seems to work. The majority of our customers do come back for more...

How can shops build connection with customers in the way you describe?

It can be hard. I think people have got out of the habit of talking to shopkeepers, especially with the shift to online shopping – a trend exacerbated by the pandemic. Corsham has a big population who've moved from cities, people who may be even less used to this type of local shopping. Here we're less about nipping in for essentials, and more about experience and connections. We have to build that trust in what we offer.

Does the mix of shops on the High Street help?

Yes, I think the High Street works because there is some healthy competition, but also a mix of shops offering something quite different. The only thing I need to leave town for is men's clothes. The one thing I'd like to see? The return of Salsa classes that we had before the pandemic.

And the future?

I know we need sales to survive, so there needs to be a critical mass of reasons to come into the town. Those reasons will drop off, one by one, if we don't all keep appealing to new and existing customers. But I don't believe in or worry about the ‘death of the High Street’. I think we're in a good place and at a turning point here. I feel grounded and hopeful about the future of Corsham. What I do know is it would be a death sentence trying to compete with supermarkets, some operating on a 1 per cent profit margin. We have to deliver something more, as well as good products and great service. And for me that's contributing to people's wellbeing and the sense of connectedness. Our staff know people, they remember them. I chat to people all the time in the High Street or give customers a wave when I am out on my run. I am sure it's the same with others. You would never get that sense of belonging if you just shopped online.

Does the history of the town help?

Yes, for sure. I love the history of this shop – the fact it has been here for so many years and was in the precinct before that. The fact that this building used to be a dress shop (Frock Show now at the top of the High Street) and before that a pharmacy. My favorite bit of history is the lake in Corsham Park. I go running round it, and I find the idea that people created it hundreds of years ago fascinating – they literally dug out acres of land and moved earth in wheelbarrows to create a lake. So utterly ridiculous in many ways, but such a lovely result.

Did you know...

Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, the UK’s most famous landscape designer of the 18th century was invited to Corsham to redesign Corsham Park but although he had an idea for the lake. It was one of his followers, Humphry Repton, who completed the project in 1778. He resisted the newer fashion for ‘wild and rugged’ that came after Brown. Repton also planted the dramatic backdrop of trees – the Lake Covert – to create the stunning reflection of trees on the water. It’s said he later regretted not locating the lake nearer to the house, but it still looks beautiful from the house’s Picture Gallery window and is a favourite route for businesses in and visitors to the town when they take a walk or enjoy a morning jog.

Did you know?

At 33 on the opposite side of the street was the home of Sir Michael Tippet. He’s acknowledged to be one of England’s greatest contemporary composers and lived at Parkside at No.33 High Street between 1960– 1970. He composed many major orchestral works there in the magnificent music room overlooking the back garden. He was made a CBE in 1959 for his contribution to music and was knighted in 1966. At the age of 85 he eventually lost the sight of his right eye. He had returned to live in London by this time, to be among friends, and he died there in 1998.

Related history

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