Are Tesco taking over?

[Govangirl]

I'm really sad about Woolworths but should we be surprised? You can now buy the whole of your Christmas at Tesco and they seem to be taking over! Soon, we'll only have huge supermarkets on our streets. It all reminds me of Genesis's 'Selling England by the Pound' and Gabriel's Orwellian warning about Tesco.

[Ship called Dignity]

I'm really sad about Woolworths but should we be surprised? You can now buy the whole of your Christmas at Tesco and they seem to be taking over! Soon, we'll only have huge supermarkets on our streets. It all reminds me of Genesis's 'Selling England by the Pound' and Gabriel's Orwellian warning about Tesco.

Funnily enough I was just thinking the same yesterday and again on the way home from work today.

I really hope Campbeltown never lets Tesco expand to a Tesco Direct or the town centre will be doomed. The biggest single threat to the shops and businesses in Campbeltown is Tescos and as much it would offer a wider selection of goods and cheap prices I don't think they should be allowed to expand.

Heard a rumour Tescos are interested in buying the site of the Creamery if it moves to its new site. Lets hope this isn't true and they build a new secondary school there instead!

[Govangirl]

Is there a Tesco already in Campbeltown? I don't recall seeing one. Where's the nearest?

And is there a need for another Secondary school? How many are there?

[linda_j]

GG Tesco is in Lochend Street in Campbeltown, it has been there for a good few years now....... Compared to asda it is really expensive.....

[maxmix]

Tesco Town is here for good.... Not be long until they are on top of Walmart also....

No one in any line can compete with these guys.... Modern shops, Large workforce and open 24Hrs in the cities....

Cant see that coming here (Thank goodness)

Once Tesco get there way eventually and expand into the creamery spot that will be the end of the retail outlets in the town

Anyone who thinks differently has there head in the clouds..... (Mark my words)

No one can compete with these guys..... A smaller business may offer a better service.... But all people want now (Especially here) is to save a few quid....

Okay once this happens they will bring 100 jobs+ to the town..... But that will soon take away 100 jobs also....

Petrol ! Cafe ! With lunches and Dinners at £1.49 (Same as Morrisons) Can you see anyone anywhere matching this.....

I hope I am wrong..... But I doubt it

maxmix

(PS I'm glad I closed after 10 years when I did)

[£3.73]

It's a classic case of all that glitters isn't gold.

Back in the 90's, there were a lot of derelict shopfronts in Longrow, that changed, now it's back to business after business ceasing trading.

At the moment, there are strides being made to highlight tourism & heritage (and I'm certainly not going to knock this), but where is the infrastructure ? Come to Campbeltown and visit Tescos ? Or let's stick up some lights in front of boarded up shops to remind everyone there once was a thriving local economy?

Am I being negative? Am I?

Maxmix, there aren't enough jobs in the town, therefore most people are going to be cost conscious. I have every sympathy for the local traders. But, at the end of the day, as you say, it's game over. Yes, there will be 100+ jobs (and probably a net total of 0 jobs), but all the main profits disappear to someplace else without ever entering the local economy.

Sad, very sad.

I'm seriously beginning to doubt that putting my name to a post here is worth the bother ... it isn't going to change a damn thing.

[TYM]

All that has been said on this thread is sad but very true.

I hope for the sake of the people in Mid Argyll that they do not let Tesco into Lochgilphead. Oban is near enough for the "big" shopping but far enough away to allow many of the smaller shops to survive.

I visited Peebles a couple of months ago. A great little town with the best selection of small independent shops I have seen anywhere in Scotland. It does not have a Tesco

[EMDEE]

I posted this on the Woolworths thread, but think it applies equally here:

There are probably none of us who can say that we have never supported the supermarket giants. The object of these organizations is obviously to make money, and they can undercut all other traders to do this. We never think when we go to Tesco or wherever to save a few pounds, of what we are doing to the local economy, i.e that we are contributing to the creation of a monopoly situation that will leave us with very little choice. Woolworths is probably the biggest casualty of the supermarkets. What would Main Street be like if Woolworths was standing empty? At least it brings a bit of activity to the street. Also, the big doors at the corner are great for shelter if a heavy shower comes on.

What we need to remember is that the supermarkets would not be able to do this without our support, and really it is not these companies who are killing other businesses, it is the consumer across the country voting with their wallet and opting to patronize them. Who can blame them however if they have a budget to keep to and need to save money?

They have killed off town centres across the country and created commercial deserts everywhere.

The Courier carries an advert for Morrisons, which must cost them a relatively small fortune, stating that the nearest branch is at Fort William. Is there anybody in Campbeltown who travels to Fort William for their weekly shop? It just goes to show how big these companies think the potential catchment area of one shop is. I do know that Tesco in Oban is well supported by Campbeltonians who visit the shop as part of a day out. I know people from Fort William who go to Oban for Tesco and people from Oban who go to Fort William for Morrisons, but that’s under an hour’s travel.

That particular Morrisons store has ruined much local trade in Fort William, as Tesco has done in Oban, and they continue to do so.

I have never been to Peebles, but it is interesting that there is no Tesco there.

We also need to remember that there are personal tragedies involved in all of this, with family businesses closing down after many years, sometimes generations, and very little to show for it.

[History]

I’m not saying it is for the better Emdee but we have moved on from shoppers trawling the small towns where they live supporting small shops. If all households are fully employed when does the shopper get the time to do this? Shops open at 9 (or later) and close at five. If small business’s want to compete then they have to be more flexible. Closing at lunch time and in some cases all day on a Wednesday is not moving on, is it?

When the Templars Hall sales were stopped it was understood that was a direct result of pressure from local traders. Not sure if that is completely true but these traders that came to the hall sold lines that local shops never did and probably still don’t.

I think there is more to it than budget and economizing. The convenience of knowing that a shop stocks what you want and will be open when you want it is also a big factor.

I had 2.5% knocked off an item recently in Dumbarton because of the chancellors statement. I wonder how many of the small shops here in the town will do that for their customers whose support they rely on.? Maybe some of them have done but not the ones I have used this week!! Still the same prices on the non-food items.

I have never been to Peebles, but it is interesting that there is no Tesco there.

Peebles has a large Sainsbury's and there are at least 10 Tesco's in Edinburgh. If folk travel 80 miles to shop in Tesco in Oban then I am sure that the folk of Peebles can travel the 13 miles to Edinburgh, the equivelant of Campbeltown to Muasdale to do the same or 60 miles down the road and over the border into Newcastle that has one of the largest shopping centres in Britain.

I don't like shopping in Tesco to be honest. I prefer the ethics of the Coop but they are pricier.

I hate to say it but I think we are all p.....g in the wind if we think small towns can ever be the same. More's the pity.

ETA I had a look at my receipt from Tesco this morning and the vat has been amended on the non food to 15%

[EMDEE]

History,

I have to agree with much of what you say. It is unfortunate in many ways that this is the way the retail sector has gone, although it has been customer led throughout. I just wonder where it will end. Will we have every small town dominated by one or other of the supermarket giants which are financially capable of assassinating any other shop by moving into their market and undercutting them just to get rid of them? This does sound sinister and even Orwellian, but it has become increasingly obvious that Tesco have their marketing exceptionally well thought out in local areas, and compete directly against local businesses. Ultimately, this is not free enterprise; it is a ruthless takeover bid for one of the largest and most important sectors of the economy, and monopoly cannot be good for the consumer.

Where does this leave the town centres? Vacant and boarded up shop units and shops selling weird and wonderful products to very limited niche markets? This is happening already!

[Mod3]

There is a big Tesco in Penicuik - 13 miles from peebles!

[Martin]

Yes, they are. Here in dear old Lincoln we have a Tesco, it's a 24 hour thing. but if you go before 8am you are forced to use an automated piece of cr*ap that calculates your purchases and issues change like an ATM. However....if I go around the corner to Sainsbury, I am greeted with a smile, the folk on the cash desks are always (without exception) friendly and ready for a laugh and a joke. I am ripped off by a smiling face, NOT a faceless machine and I much prefer to walk out of Sainsbury with a smile on my chops as opposed to what I would get in Tesco.
While I'm at it, can I just say that Lincolnshire -Operative took me for £1:30 for a loaf of Hovis on Friday. That, my friends, is beyond the pale, there is no need for that.
Oh well, I'm off to smother my expensive slive of bread with tomato ketchup, Sainsbury own brand of course....it's cheaper.

[UP THE ROAD]

I usually use the corner shop in Easter Road for my magazines and it's really handy if you run out of anything--but as there is an Iceland, Scotmid, Morrisons and Sainsburys near here prefer to do my weekly shop in one of them as it is much cheaper-used to use the local butchers shops but they shut down, and the remaining local fish shop I don't like at all-most folk are on a budget thanks to the wonderful economics of the Government so it's makes sense for me to go where I can save money. On the other hand when we go to Uist there is only the local Co-op to go to and even although the price of fuel decreased, and the ferry fares are nearly half of what they were a couple of months ago their prices remain the same and they refuse to lower them--makes my blood boil as the choice is poor too, so we buy as much as we can in Edinburgh before we go. I don't know anyone who doesn't go to supermarkets for a lot of their weekly shopping. Do You?