The owners of a popular Greenwich Market business have told how postal strikes are hitting their trade at the most important time of the year. 

Pergola London, a scented candle business run by Sue Lee and her husband Duncan Macdonell, became regular sellers at the market after launching in 2018.

But in 2019 they began selling online, which became a lifeline for the couple during the pandemic.

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Duncan said: “It was a lifesaver to sell online through Etsy and be able to post our products to customers that way since we couldn’t sell at markets anymore.”

During this time the couple forged a strong working relationship with their local Royal Mail staff near their base in Hampstead, and Duncan said they were instrumental for small businesses like theirs during such troubling times.

He said: “Royal Mail were fantastic, they knew us as regulars, and we really valued that they were open as an essential service.

“They were reliable and consistent, and as a small business having them there to deliver parcels was so important to us.

“We prefer to use Royal Mail because the post workers always know where to find the doors seeing as they work their patches regularly.

“So we like to send with Royal Mail as a rule, especially as we do get lots of customers who live in rural areas.”

News Shopper: Greenwich Market candle company relies on Christmas for 50% of salesGreenwich Market candle company relies on Christmas for 50% of sales (Image: Pergola London)

The Communication Workers Union, which represents Royal Mail postal staff, announced further industrial strikes on December 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24.

According to CWU these strikes are in response to attempted cuts to pay, compulsory redundancies and other changes within the company.

A Royal Mail spokesman said CWU was "holding Christmas to ransom" and urged CWU to call off the strike. 

As a result of these strikes, Duncan and Sue have had to pursue other options to ensure that they can continue to sell online over the festive season during strike days.

Duncan said: “We get 50% of our sales during the months of November and December, that’s when people tend to buy candles as gifts for others.

“So, these strikes have certainly affected us, we can’t wait for the strikes to be over due to our delivery guarantee policy.

“Royal Mail warned us that if we posted on certain days, it probably wouldn’t arrive until well after that period, so it does have an impact on our customers.”

To continue to ensure guaranteed delivery the couple began posting with DPD during strike days, however this has also caused issues for the business.

An email to Duncan from DPD on November 30 informed him that, due to a surge in demand for delivery services, the company temporarily suspended local services in the UK.

A spokesperson for DPD said it was “standard practice to agree parcel volumes with businesses at this time of year".

Duncan said: “We’ve managed to find solutions to problems caused, but of course these solutions do take more time and energy during a busy time of the year.

“We hope that we’ll have a delivery company to use when Royal Mail has its next planned strikes and we’ll endeavour to work around them.

“We certainly support Royal Mail, they did a great service during the pandemic and so we believe they deserve our support.”

He added: “We are reliant on a good Christmas; we are noticing that casual customers aren’t buying as much this year compared to previous years.

“This time of year is crucial for us, we are expecting a good Christmas but you just never know.”

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