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“MENTAL HEALTH IN RETAILERS IS AN UNPROTECTED CLASS”: NATALIE LIGHTFOOT’S JOURNEY AND WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

Today is World Mental Health Day, and we were able to catch up with retailer Natalie Lightfoot from Londis Solo Convenience to ask how she got started in the industry- as well as some of the obstacles she’s had to face as both a female retailer and an advocate within the community for mental health.

Today is World Mental Health Day, and we were able to catch up with retailer Natalie Lightfoot from Londis Solo Convenience to ask how she got started in the industry- as well as some of the obstacles she’s had to face as both a female retailer and an advocate within the community for mental health.

“I moved up from Bedford to Scotland, literally just to open the shop,” Natalie tells us, “I’ve been in the industry for eighteen years. My brother and I opened up the shop together, but we didn’t stay in business together very long- I ran the shop by myself at the time. I won a £50,000 competition to have a store refit about nine years ago, almost ten now, then joined Londis. That was wonderful.”

“My husband was made redundant,” Natalie says, “Around the same time I was broken into. I got broken into twice in twenty days, lost in the region of about £35,000. It was a really, really difficult time. It takes a lot of time to recover from break-ins.”

When asked about life outside of retailing, Natalie notes, “There isn’t a life outside of being a retailer. It’s very, very blurred lines, it’s very difficult. A lot of the time, I feel like it’s particularly difficult to be female. It’s difficult to be anyone when you’re an independent retailer, because it never stops, it’s 24/7. We don’t ever truly get a break.”

With the constant timetable that belongs to most retailers, it’s no surprise; retailers in our industry are constantly on the clock, even when the stores are shut and the staff have gone home. It can be very difficult to switch off, and Natalie mentions this factually.


“It’s hard to have an actual life because you’re always on the end of the phone for everybody; my staff. The store is open sixteen hours a day. During those hours, you’re always on call. Fortunately, I share it with my husband- but that’s unfortunate sometimes because we can never leave work alone, it’s hard to switch off and go on holiday. 

“We are trying to make it a priority, and I am focused on being a good example for my children. As much as it’s great to have a good career and strong work ethic- mental health in retailers is sort of an unprotected class, a little bit.”

Natalie notes that she’s not saying it for sympathy, but she notes that it’s to show the struggles of not being able to switch off. “I’m very fortunate that when we joined SnappyShopper, I was able to take a little bit of a step back and work remotely. Started working more and more with suppliers, gaining that slight distance. It’s about finding the balance.

“There’s a lot of folk that aren’t at the point where they can do that. They can’t step away. Working day in and day out, they don’t have a break. I can identify with that. I think Suntory a couple of years ago partnered with a magazine to offer retailers an opportunity to get another retailer to cover their store so they could actually go and get a quality break, and it was such a good idea because it tapped into this whole, ‘we don’t get 5.6 working weeks worth of holiday- it’s just not an option for a lot of us. 

“Even if you’ve got the best team in the world, which we’ve got such a fantastic team, it’s a lot to put on somebody,” Natalie says, in regards to leaving the store in somebody else’s hands while retailers go on holiday. “You know how much it is on you.”

“It’s been a year in the making, but myself and three other retailers are launching an organisation that will soon become a charity to create a safe space for retailers. This will be by retailers, for retailers. It will enable people to reach out.” Natalie names retailers Neil Godhania, Sophie Towers and Atul Sodha as the retailers she’ll be launching the project alongside.

“A lot of us have known people who have ended their lives and really, really suffered from poor health from all of the stress. My friend had a heart attack from the stress and a stroke. Some of our retail friends have been at the top of the industry and are facing bankrupty- it’s really, really difficult.

“With the rise of the cost of living, it isn’t just a job. It’s everything else that goes with it. We’re really lucky to create this place. We have GroceryAid, obviously, but I think when you’re in that headspace where everything’s going wrong, pride can take over. You just need somebody who understands, and the only person who that could be is another retailer.

“That’s what we’re trying to create. There’s no shame in reaching out,” Natalie reaffirms, “Kind of like an orange button scheme- they know that there’s someone we can find amongst our network that can lend an ear, that can be empathetic, sympathetic, give advice, so they’re not alone.”

Natalie then talks about the Post Office scandal and what the postmasters went through when the Horizon IT system cost many business-owners money, their reputation, and for some, their lives. 

“It’s about trying to avoid that crisis. We face so many challenges from finance to staff to changes and legislations- I could go on all day.”

“I’m a huge advocate for women in convenience. I’ve been an ambassador for them for a while now- giving people the honest truth of what us females face that men will never experience. A rep walking into the store and asking us if the boss is in- something as simple as that, or asking if your dad is in, not even looking in your direction. Sexual advances, just like awful, awful things that have happened to me specifically but for other people, too.”

Natalie notes that while it’s disheartening, that is why it needs to be spoken about; to remove the stigma surrounding it.

This World Mental Health Day, it truly is important to listen to your mind as well as your body. If something’s not feeling right, or you need somebody to talk to, GroceryAid are here for you.

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