Stephanie’s job is to keep the town centre’s heartbeat vibrantly healthy

This is the view of the woman appointed to lead the town’s marketing over the next two years. Since she was appointed two months ago, Business Improvement District manager Stephanie Kerr has been working on the town’s Taste Trail and other events.

With most of us feeling we have less money in our pockets and the temptation to head for free parking out of town or simply shop online, her job is to entice us back to old-fashioned shops.

She said: “There’s no doubt that high streets across the country face significant changes at the moment. The challenge is to make them exciting and relevant destinations and focus on what customers are looking for and the experience we’re offering them.

“It’s not just that there are things on shelves to buy, it’s that Leamington is a place with a beating heart.

“Someone described it to me as like the best parts of London in ten minutes’ walk. We have the shops, the cafes, the galleries, the river and the beautiful Jephson Gardens.

“I’m really looking forward to working with retailers to define what’s different about Leamington and how to shout about it.”

Talking about shopping as an ‘experience’ might seem strange, but a mid-sized English town with a professional marketing strategy would have seemed bizarre a few years ago. Faced with competition from the internet and out-of-town barns, Stephanie says shopkeepers need to sell the virtues of personal service and work together to support each other.

New Zealand born, she studied town planning at university and, with friends, sank her student loan into setting up an outdoor pursuits shop. She ran a ski company in France for a year and her career has taken her to Canada, Australia and Germany.

Previously based in London working on economic development plans as a consultant, she now lives south of the river and is based in the BID offices in Park Street. She describes Leamington’s mix of shops as “fabulous” but has no doubt jobs like hers are needed to champion them.

She said: “Let’s face it, the high street has to respond to some of the challenges that we’re facing. There’s no room for complacency, there’s no room for standing still.”