The beeb and ITV news were there, so I pushed my way to the front just so I could be on the telly – attention seeker or what.

Long live local shops!

Good luck with that one. We have a huge ASDA and Sainsbury’s within a mile of our house and Tesco and Morrisons are both building hypermarkets within the same mile radius.

Every single local councillor voted against the tesco in chorlton! It was approved anyway! The government recently changed planning rules so it is now all but impossible to stop one of these bohemouths once things have been set in motion! Good luck with it!

Where are they going to build it?

bohemouths

Sorry, but lol. 🙂

Where are they going to build it?

The college is shutting down the site on Hibbert Lane and just running the Buxton lane site. Apparently they can get £4m off a housing developer or £12m off a supermarket, even despite the fact that it’s in land that’s designated as “housing, non-commercial”. The supermarkets know they’ll win. The college were trying to sneak it through but word leaked it and it’s gone nuts round here

Agreed, local shops FTW.

I can not imagine why anybody would prefer small local shops to the more convenient supermarkets.
With the price of living being what it is, surely everybody is looking to get more for their money.

That doesn’t stop you coming shopping in Glossop though, as I recall – Nimbys R Us opens its doors shortly… 😉

[that was directed at Bunnyhop btw]

I can not imagine why anybody would prefer small local shops to the more convenient supermarkets.

Quality costs, mate. I don’t mind paying for food that tastes nice rather than processed plastic rubbish.

I can not imagine why anybody would prefer small local shops to the more convenient supermarkets.
With the price of living being what it is, surely everybody is looking to get more for their money.

You believe their advertising don’t you?

nbt – Member

I can not imagine why anybody would prefer small local shops to the more convenient supermarkets.

Quality costs, mate. I don’t mind paying for food that tastes nice rather than processed plastic rubbish.

Hope it’s a Waitrose, then…

nbt – Member
Quality costs, mate. I don’t mind paying for food that tastes nice rather than processed plastic rubbish.

If there’s enough folk agree with you – and assuming you think “local shops” sell tastier food – then there would be room for both.

With the price of living being what it is, surely everybody is looking to get more for their money.

I’ve recently started doing my Fruit and Veg shopping at the the local greengrocers because it’s a lot cheaper than ASDA where I used to get it. Butchers is more expensive, but I believe where meat is concerned you get what you pay for. Don’t get me started on the place I get my fish. Right on the quay where its landed, friends with the manger of the shop, whatever I ask for it never costs more than a fiver, last week I got 4 dover sole fillets, two sides of cod and a big bag of salmon offcuts for 3 quid.

Talk to your local shopkeepers, make friends with them, you’ll end up getting stuff for a lot less than supermarkets charge!

Supermarkets aren’t all bad. My local high street has a precinct thingy which had a somerfield in it. Very few people used it, or the other shops. One by one they started to close. When Somerfield closed Sainsbury’s took up the lease and the place is buzzing again. No more shops have shut, and more have opened (including a butchers which does very well, a terribly middle class coffee shop, and a kids play place). The rest of the high street has benefited too with a couple of independent coffee shops opening up.

If there’s enough folk agree with you

Yep, these demos tend really to be against other residents, rather than the supermarkets themselves. No supermarket chain would ever bother opening a new store in an area where they felt the local people weren’t interested, and would only shop in local shops. They’re not in the business of losing money. And to be fair where this is deemed to be an issue many of the big boys have in recent years opened small local versions of their stores. Which have proved to be highly successful in satisfying local demand.

Of course what would be a completely story, would be if the new supermarkets once opened, deliberately sold goods at a loss, and then having forced local shops out of business, upped the prices. I’ve seen Tesco do that locally with fuel/petrol stations. And I’ve seen Boots buy up a highly successful local independent chemist, and then immediately close it. But those tactics are not generally used by the big supermarket stores.

IMO the best way to help local shops is to give them huge council tax relief, whilst slapping massive council taxes on out of town stores. After all they do contribute more to environmental issues such as congestion, pollution, etc, and reduce employment opportunities, which all adds to local costs.

Supermarkets create a lot of jobs, full and part time,also name a small shop, that gives clubcard points,that doesnt have some customer chatting drivel to the staff, holding the queue up, and thinking because they know the staff names theyre a special customer.

Then you havethe special needs customers, who thinks that the local shop meat and veg is better than the local supermarket, its all the same cow pig and veg, or does theirs come from a lab.

Supermarkets create a lot of jobs

If you look at the volume of goods which goes through supermarket checkouts, in relation to the amount of staff required to process it, I suspect you’ll find that supermarkets are not as labour intensive as local shops. Which is undoubtedly one of the ways they keep their prices down.

People don’t buy stuff from supermarkets which they would otherwise not buy. If they did, then it would be fair to say that supermarkets create jobs. But if I hadn’t bought my 25 rolls of toilet paper from Costo the other week, I would have bought toilet paper from somewhere else. Costco have not “created” any jobs. And supermarkets generally don’t – they destroy jobs in fact.

Then you havethe special needs customers, who thinks that the local shop meat and veg is better than the local supermarket, its all the same cow pig and veg, or does theirs come from a lab.

You forgot to mention the elderly people who can’t jump into their cars and drive to the out of town stores, but might yet still need a packet of butter or some bog paper.

lots of jobs for drivers, van delivery drivers,part time jobs, suitable for single parents,24 hour opening needs more staff, then there are the cleaners, security, and maintance staff, all jobs smaller shops seem to do without, especially the cleaners, as some small shops even the flies dont in.

You forgot to mention the elderly people who can’t jump into their cars and drive to the out of town stores, but might yet still need a packet of butter or some bog paper.

andf for them you have the sm,aller tesco metros, and sainsburys, along with the new morrisons coming soon

Supermarkets create a lot of jobs, full and part time

They don’t tend to pay a lot though generally do they. And the profits generated are much less likely to be spent in the local community.

who thinks that the local shop meat and veg is better than the local supermarket, its all the same cow pig and veg, or does theirs come from a lab.

Plenty of things in my greengrocer are from the local area. And it’s cheaper than Tesco. All of the meat from the butcher is local. It is a touch more expensive than Tesco for most things, but in a different league quality wise. The bakers is the same. The market in Salisbury is fantastic and is on twice a week. I do still buy stuff at the supermarket but it tends to be non-perishable stuff.

I can not imagine why anybody would prefer small local shops to the more convenient supermarkets.

The small, local shops are local. The “convenient” supermarkets are not. If, for example, I go to the market, I absolutely guarantee it’s quicker than going to Tesco. Granted I may have to carry some bags around rather than pushing a trolley, but I cope somehow 😉

ernie_lynch – Member
IMO the best way to help local shops is to give them huge council tax relief, whilst slapping massive council taxes on out of town stores.

The last SNP Government in Scotland proposed a “Supermarket tax” (35% increase in business rates) but it was voted down by the Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dems. I expect it will re-surface for the next budget now that the SNP have a majority.

I think the trick is to get the supermarket to open in the town centre, not on the ring road. That way, shops nearby get extra passing trade and everyone’s a winner. If there isn’t a supermarket in town now, where do you go for cereal, washing powder, bog roll and the like?

We’re quite lucky our market as survived, though it has shrunk a fair bit, but the businesses in there, especially the meat and fish market give a quality way beyond the supermarkets, and cheaper too. Some are online too.

“lots of jobs for drivers”

Have you seen the size of Tesco lorries, and what just one man can deliver ?

“24 hour opening needs more staff”

People aren’t buying more stuff because some supermarkets are open 24 hours, they’re simply buying it at different times.

“all jobs smaller shops seem to do without, especially the cleaners”

You were running out of ideas, weren’t you ?

The last SNP Government in Scotland proposed a “Supermarket tax” (35% increase in business rates)

I didn’t know that, it’s the way to go imo. Although subsidy/tax relief for local shops is still important imo, they are after all providing a sometimes very necessary service. And that also applies to local Tesco Sainsburys etc.

I think the trick is to get the supermarket to open in the town centre, not on the ring road. That way, shops nearby get extra passing trade and everyone’s a winner. If there isn’t a supermarket in town now, where do you go for cereal, washing powder, bog roll and the like?

Plenty of non-perishables available on our market still. But I agree it’s tough for a shop to survive selling that kind of stuff. We do have a hardware/homeware shop in my little town which I use occasionally. It looks like Arkwrights 🙂

And that also applies to local Tesco Sainsburys etc.

I don’t want to agree with that. But our little town had a one-stop, which was tiny and shite. A small budgens was opened about a year ago and I’d swear that the greengrocers is busier than before, so maybe it does have a knock-on effect? I’m still hoping that the one-stop will close and something better opens in it’s place though.

My wife forgot her purse when she went to the butchers this week. He said just to drop the cash in when she was passing next. A supermarket wouldn’t have done that.

Which reminds me, I need to put that steak on.

Isn’t Tesco Express a combination of convenience store, erm, convenience and superstore prices? The best of both worlds. And if anyone thinks that the supermarkets have any other agenda except making money, think again.

Isn’t Tesco Express a combination of convenience store, erm, convenience and superstore prices?

Not IME of the one-stop and budgens. They tend to be very expensive.

People aren’t buying more stuff because some supermarkets are open 24 hours, they’re simply buying it at different times.

Really?

And if anyone thinks that the supermarkets have any other agenda except making money, think again.

Eh?

Eh?

They’re not in the business of keeping customers happy.

They’re not in the business of keeping customers happy

😆

Really?

Eh ?

A couple of Marple residents on hearing the news……..

I followed (by coincidence) a middle aged couple through Marple this morning. They’d just signed the “Say No to Hibbert Lane Supermarket” petition at the little gazebo stand outside the two already closed down shops. I’d parked my bike up in the Co-op supermarket car park. I was also two places behind the same couple in the check out queue in the afore mentioned supermarket ten minutes later.
I really love irony and hypocrisy.
I wonder how may other of the sign erecting, petition branding objectors secretly dive into the Co-op or even Sainsbury’s in Hazel Grove to save a couple of quid on their shopping when nobody’s looking?
I know a couple straight off.

End of the day people demand convience. So unless there was demand, supermarkets wouldn’t build and develop.

Eh?

Ernie – I’m challenging this statement

People aren’t buying more stuff because some supermarkets are open 24 hours, they’re simply buying it at different times.

I don’t see why supermarkets would open 24 hrs if they didn’t think folk would buy more stuff from them as a result. But maybe you have evidence to back up what you said? I don’t have any evidence to support my thinking other than Tesco directors having a legal obligation to run the business profitably.

Whaddya think?