Letter: Will Tesco harm town trade?
Friday 17th July 2009, 9:08AM BST.
LETTER: The date of the opening of the Tesco supermarket in Ellesmere is fast approaching and I write sharing the concern of the smaller shopkeepers in the town centre.
I spent 25 years as a supermarket manager in Ellesmere and I recall a large store being built in nearby Wem. This resulted in the closure of many town centre businesses.
Sure, the town is in need of a larger food store but not at the expense of the town and the jobs of local people employed there.
John Metcalfe
Ellesmere
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Of course it will, they don’t co-exist they move in kill and become the only shop. They don’t care about others, thats part of their success. They are about to do that to Madeley in Telford and the councillors who’ev sold Madeley’s heart and soul to them are going to be ‘all surprised’ when, in a few years time, there is only one major store there too.
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Tesco are taking over the world. Not only are they building superstores they are also buying up the small corner shop type stores aswell.
Soon we shall have no choice but to buy from a Tesco, Then we shall no doubt see prices rise.
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answer = OF COURSE they will, tesco has killed little uk shops
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Locals will continue to use the butchers and delicatessen because they’ve got a reputation for being excellent. It’ll be Spar and Co-op that will struggle, they’re going to have to up their game to compete with Tesco, which is no bad thing in my books!
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will tesco harm smaller shops who sell the same products for more money and have higher running costs like ground rent etc….hmmmm……let me think about that…..
COME ON – is the pope catholic ?
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Of course the opening of a well run supermarket will make smaller less efficient shops close. My job in engineering was exported years ago due to ever increasing amounts of money being taken by the state, pricing me out of work. As retail food shopping cannot be done outside the UK only the most efficient low cost retailer will survive. After all you would never use a small local company to make your consumer products.
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yes
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the easy answer to that question is Yes, everyone hates tesco, and assumes it will kill all smaller shops, but actually its more complicated than that, a tesco is a very good brand, a successful shop which will create jobs and its going to help ellesmere in some ways to be a more vibrant and livable town
the people who will suffer are e.g. green grocers and petrol stations who can never compete on price with Tescos economies of scale but niche businesses should be ok/
personally i think of ellesmere as somewhere i would drive past, but having a tesco might make me stop and grab some milk or whatever and then whilst im there who knows i might shop around and visit other shops in the town
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david cameron and the new conservative government will stop Tesco taking over because we are the party of small businesses and less regulations and we will cut taxes and help little businesses like mine grow bigger and bigger
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tesco’s are just like swine flu they creep up on you and the weakest go to the wall. thankfully the swines have pulled out of planning permission in my local town and we can continue to shop at our co-op and a costcutter. with 2 butchers and two bakers as well as two ironmongers, my little devon town can continue until the next planning application goes in
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Not all Ellesmere residents are against Tesco coming!
Ask many locals where they currently do their main shopping and you will be told they travel to the bigger supermarkets in Oswestry, Wrexham etc., but are looking forward to being able to do their shopping locally when Tesco opens.
We’ve needed a decent grocery store here for years.
And don’t worry, we will still continue to use the smaller local shops such as the butchers and veg shop, simply because they are so good :-)
It’s also a chance for local businesses to make the most of people like James T above, someone who wouldn’t normally have stopped in Ellesmere but has been persuaded to call in and have a look around the town.
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i blamethe council they are too keen to get the business rates in and too soft on planning
shropshire is being ruined by new builds, modern and ugly, we must have more strict planning laws, for aesthetics, energy efficiency and location
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I agree with Andy – people will continue to use the deli and butchers. We use both butchers and the deli and they are fantastic. I dont want meat from tesco I want it locally sourced where possible and from a butcher who knows where it has come from etc. I never use Spar, but have put up with the ‘service’ provided by COOP for too long. Sadly (perhaps) for COOP, they had their chance to expand and improve but they felt it was neither necessary or important. If I am honest, I cant wait to have a decent alternative to the cramped and expensive COOP in Ellesmere. As for small quality retailers like the deli, butchers, Roberts’, TGs, Dykes’, Millards and several others – I, and many people I speak to, will continue to use you. COOP – we will not: your loss, our gain – you should never rest on your laurels!
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ellemere is dying, new blood like this may actually help the town
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Tesco has actually helped the town! More jobs, people dont have to travel so far to do their shopping. The two convenience shops in ellesmere never sell what you need, They are over priced, you have to que for ages and you can never find a space on the main carpark. BRING ON TESCO save me travelling to Oswestry or Wrexham!
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Tory Boy – Come on take the leash of your dogma! Of course the Camberwell carrot won’t stop Tesco. Any threats to them and they’ll threaten to leave the UK .. imagine that?.
How on earth do you think global corporations profit and keep their markets?
And local lad – Ellesmere will become a museum town (with lots of ‘shoppes’), don’t expect to walk anywhere for services when all the ‘real’ shops close, get on the bus or drive to the retail park – like many others have to.
and employement – yes, a few low-paid jobs will certainly make the town prosper.
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