The Board promotes the Retail and Rural Trade Strategy of Castilla y León 2024-2027, which has 61 measures distributed across six axes and an investment of more than 122 million, with the aim of responding to the “numerous challenges” it faces. small local commerce through the protection and strengthening of this area, which will allow “revitalizing” a strategic sector for the community from both an economic and social point of view.
Precisely, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment, Leticia García, detailed in the press conference after the Government Council that this strategy defines, plans and coordinates all actions with an impact on the commercial sector and its preparation responds to the result of the collaboration of different departments.
This plan contains 61 measures and six axes that imply a global budget that exceeds 122 million During the period of validity until 2027, it has been prepared with the collaboration of the commercial sector itself and contains a “rigorous” analysis of the area in which the main challenges facing retail and rural commerce are included.
The head of Industry has also highlighted that commerce is a “first order” economic and social driver in Castilla y León and has a “decisive role” in the field of employment, the settlement of the population and in rural development, reports Ep.
“But at this moment it faces important challenges and this strategy aims to respond to these challenges by protecting and strengthening the commercial sector,” the counselor analyzed, while detailing that the document was based on a “rigorous” analysis. of the sector in which the main problems faced by local retail trade are included, such as “atomization, poor business culture, weak financial capacitylack of generational change and resistance to change”.
In the opinion of the counselor, these are “problems that are getting worse” as a consequence of new consumption habits and current situations that reduce spending capacity and that affect rural areas to a greater extent, where There are 939 municipalities without physical businesses and 556 with only one or two businesses dedicated to commercial activity.
The strategy roadmap includes the permanent monitoring of the sector to obtain data on the impact of the measures undertaken and define mechanisms that detect developments and initiatives that help regenerate and optimize the commerce sector. An institutional declaration on its strategic and essential nature is also included.
In this statement, the head of Industry has deepened, commerce is recognized as an economic engine and job creation engine; Its capacity as a factor of social cohesion is determined, contributing to establishing population, promoting rural development, improving the quality of life in the environment, promoting social relations and maintaining identity and traditions. In addition, its capacity for innovation, adaptation and environmental sustainability is recognized. In the same way, the framework that designs the strategy to coordinate and guide all the actions of the Junta de Castilla y León to promote trade in the Community is articulated around six axes.
Main axes
The first axis of ‘Protection of retail trade’ includes horizontal measures that seek to establish a legal and institutional framework aimed at the protection of retail trade. In this sense, it is foreseen, on the one hand, the review of the legal instruments of the organization of the sector, on the other, the coordination of the actions that in this matter are carried out by the different institutions, including a strengthening and expanding functions of the Network of Internal Trade Agents, in order for them to act in the revitalization and support of trade from the territory. An investment of 7.6 million is expected in this axis.
The second axis, ‘Training and commercial culture’, has a budget of close to 12.6 million and includes the permanent updating of the database and the monitoring of support measures. In addition, actions are included aimed both at raising awareness of the importance of the sector on the part of society as a whole and actions aimed at greater professionalization of the human capital that operates within the sector.
In the area of awareness-raising, there are, among others, promotional campaigns, support measures to improve the image of the sector, the establishment of a day dedicated to small local businesses or the holding of annual conferences that allow the situation of the sector to be analyzed and give it greater visibility.
The third axis that addresses ‘Modernization, digitalization and innovation of retail commerce’ includes those measures aimed at promoting the modernization and improvement of the management of commercial establishments and their proximity services, with firm support for physical commerce, and, in parallel , measures to support the incorporation of new technologies that allow the digitalization of management and marketing systems.
They are contemplated financial aid aimed primarily at SMEs for these modernization processes, as well as incentives for R&D&I projects that contribute to the revitalization of the sector. The budget allocated to these lines exceeds 15 million euros.
The fourth axis of ‘Promotion of demand for local retail trade’ contemplates those actions that aim to reactivate commercial demand and promote an improvement of the environment, whether rural or urban, in order to promote measures that favor consumption and allow local retail businesses to have a favorable context for the development of their activity.
Departure for rural commerce
The fifth axis of ‘Promotion of commercial entrepreneurship’, whose planned budget is 7.2 million, focuses on expressing and developing all those actions that pursue the renewal of the commercial fabric, in which entrepreneurship is favored, giving an important role to the generational change.
Finally, the sixth axis of ‘Specific support plan for rural commerce’ contemplates the development of a specific support plan for rural commerce, with a budget of more than 22.7 million eurosand whose ultimate objective is to stop the loss of commercial activity in rural areas.
The analysis of the data has corroborated the decline of commercial activity in rural areas, a decline closely linked to demographic evolution and that has much less impact in the regional capitals, tourist areas and surroundings of large population centers.
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