Business: Bridging the Divide


Tribal loyalties are strong in south Birmingham, and nowhere more so than Moseley and Kings Heath. But two local businesses have been daring enough to straddle both communities.

Winspers Florists was first established in Moseley forty years ago. Owner Charmain Hannaby took it over in 2007, but the building developed structural problems that the landlord wasn’t prepared to fix. Forced to move to new premises, Charmain took the opportunity to look for somewhere bigger and ended up just a few hundred yards down the Alcester Road, opening on Kings Heath High Street in March 2013. She believes business has benefitted from the move.

“We get more custom here.” she says. “It’s a bigger store, with more room to mingle. Ironically, I also discovered that most of our customers live in Kings Heath, but were travelling to Moseley to get their flowers. We’ve actually become even more local for them, so we haven’t really noticed a big difference in the people coming in.”

Remi Faveau, co-owner of French patisserie Maison Mayci tells a different story. Travelling in the opposite direction, the business first opened on Poplar Road in Kings Heath in 2005, then expanded onto Moseley High Street in 2010. Remi has noticed a distinct difference in clientele between the two neighbourhoods.

“In Kings Heath we’re next to a school, people drop off their kids then come in for a coffee and a chat. We get more families and children. In Moseley we get more single people, and more older people. We also tend to be busier if it’s a nice day, but if the weather is bad then business can be slow. In Kings Heath it’s more even.”

What are your experiences of shopping in Moseley and Kings Heath? Do you think there’s a difference in the people you see? Let us know your thoughts.

(Published in 'My Moseley and Kings Heath' November 2013)

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