Be rid of grocers’ overbearing influence
HOW much longer are we to put up with our towns and villages retaining their outmoded, though quaint, individual names?
Surely it would be much more efficient if they were all indexed according to which superstore controls retail commerce in their area.
Thus, Cambourne would perhaps be known as Morrison 324, Huntingdon would be divided into Lower Sainsbury 390 and Upper Tesco 506, and Ramsey could be Tesco 618.
After all, these companies have worked so hard to succeed. Do they not offer, every week, some amazing special offers that have done so much to rid us of all those independent traders? Have they not convinced us that it is far too exhausting to trek round a myriad of shops every week when we can be shoulder to shoulder among the scrum in their vast emporiums?
Now, the greatest of them all, Tesco, is leading the way in mopping up those pesky village shops, not just locally but all over the country.
Somersham is the latest site in Huntingdonshire, and yet the inhabitants seem ungrateful.
Strange as it may seem, there seems to be a growing swell of criticism in many quarters. For instance there are those who complain that these superstores have poisoned every community where they have appeared and that village community life will be totally destroyed by the introduction of the new express stores.
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There is also the opinion that, although the special offers are very attractive, an average week’s shopping can become more expensive than before, not just because of the total price and impulse buying but also because so many items cannot be purchased in small quantities.
Then there is the complaint that, once all the rivals have been driven away, shoppers have no choice of goods other than what the grocery giants choose to offer.
Your readers might wonder why responsible government does not take action to control these monopolies.
On the other hand, responsible shoppers always have the option to stop and think, ignore the loss-leader offers, and not patronise the grocery giants’ stores, whether large or small.
M KING
Ansley Way
St Ives
