Black Pound Day, a leading movement for Black-owned businesses in the UK, launched a pop-up store in Westfield Stratford City on February 4th, 2023. Over 50 Black-owned businesses sold their products in the store, which offered a department store-like experience. The pop-up store was open for a limited time and enabled Black-owned businesses to reach East London shoppers and tourists. The store opening was a significant change to the accessibility of Black-owned businesses.
Founded by UK music artist Swiss, Black Pound Day encouraged people to shop from local and online Black-owned businesses. The platform had over 1500 businesses on their directory and aimed to support the growth of the UK Black economy by addressing economic inequalities affecting Black businesses and entrepreneurs.
Black Pound Day founder Swiss said: “Black Pound Day has always been rooted in what our community needs by increasing the visibility of Black-owned businesses. The opening of our second store in Westfield Stratford City is our response to calls from our community to continue this work.”
Alyson Hodkinson, General Manager of Westfield Stratford City, said: “We’re proud to welcome the Black Pound Day store to Westfield Stratford City and offer customers the opportunity to support the grassroots movement and discover products from a diverse range of brands. We believe that diversity and inclusion is vital to our business and we have a responsibility to ensure our offer mirrors the diversity of customers visiting our center every day.”
