To think that Tescos mission is to put all small business' out of business

[notnagging]

Got an email from tescos today stating that they are now delivering organic boxes. Another of their ideas with prices that no-one will be able to compete with. They have closed down our local garage because they wanted to build another Tesco metro( the third one within walking distance) even though they did not get the locals support they don't seem to care.They make billions & just seem to be on a mission to take over the high street regardless of customers needs.

Or how about we get the government to make EVERY major supermarket to treat its suppliers and the towns they invade , with a modicum of respect? No one says they shouldn't exist , it's the fact they exist to the complete detriment of everything else .

EnglishGirl - I totally agree about the local shops. We have a Tesco being planned nearby and I have been harassed by wild-eyed anti-Tesco protestors who keep knocking at the door and asking me to sign the petition/go on a march/display a poster.

When I explain that I don't actually MIND about the Tesco store (I'm too scared to admit that I am looking forward to it ) they start lecturing me about the small local shopping area nearby and how it will be affected.

That will be the chemist where it costs almost £4 for a packet of baby wipes, the butchers where I got food poisoning and there has recently been a large health & safety fine, the cafe that is never open at weekends or at any time you might want to use it, the green grocers that sells potatos so old that they are growing eyes, the Spar shop where I am stunned by the price of a tin of tomatoes and the assistants are all chatting to each other instead of serving...

If these places had reasonable prices & good service then they wouldn't have to worry. I have started hiding when I see the protestors, wishing the Tesco was here already & secretly hoping there is a cafe area in the new one and that they will sell ready cooked chickens.

YANBU. At all.

Where I live there are 2 small tescos within a mile of each other. Both within easy walking distance for me obviously. One stocks better food and variety than the other because it has a wealthier clientele. Seriously.

I like Tesco's they may be unethical,no truly competative company is.
Their own brand stuff is reasonably nice, our local ones are clean, bright and the staff are helpful.

ASDA is cheaper, but it's huge, disorganised and has no one to ask and not enough tills open in an evening. Not all their own brand stuff is nice.

Sainsburys blow it on price and very annoying meat offers that clog up your freezer and make meals boring.

Its great that some of you are supporting local traders but please spare a thought for those whose entire shopping budget is £50. Tesco/asda/sainsburys might just be what they need.

Cooking I don't have an issue with supermarkets at all on the face of it.

I do with tescos though. I live in Cardiff,it is hardly a large city and yet there are 2 tesco extras and 10 smaller ones (at least).Ridiculously uncessary.

Especially the ones in which the stock is less varied and of poorer quality to "suit the demographic". Because obviously,poor people only like 3 vegetables and mostly frozen food

Read "shopped" by Joanna blythman. It's about the power of British supermarkets. I read it 5 years ago and have been loathe to go into one ever since. It was really shocking.

IOts not tesco putting the small business oiut of business its the customers surely? If people didn't use them then they wouldn;t be so huge. We have 3 tescos within a close distance and I don't go near any of them.

customers choice.

That does sound quite excessive. I have to say I am happy we have one now. If its 7pm and I run out of milk I can go get some more. No knocking on doors or driving miles to a shop that's open.

I actively avoid Tescos there food is always in the news for having something wrong with it urgghh

Luckily I live in a part of London that has several thriving markets, ethnic groceries and is a short bus ride from Lidls & Aldi. The markets flog all the non-irratiated funny shaped fruit and veg we can eat at prices we can afford while providing a liveable income to the stall holders and local shops, as opposed to a tax-payer subsidised minimum wage that needs tax credits for the workers to feed their families.

Oh and the small business retailers don't get to tax dodge Tescos do either! They say 8 proper "wages" are lost to the community for each minimum wage job Tescos creates when it opens a new shop.

I've boycotted Tescos for years and only use Sainsbury's to get some of the dairy-free stuff like easter eggs I can't buy elsewhere. Tescos are unethical to both suppliers and their workers (I haven't forgiven them for their involvement in workfare).

I'm all for free trade - the bullying Tescos indulges in at all stages of the supply & planning chains is NOT free and fair competition at all. To use that farmers strawberries, if they don't want to purchase his product for quality reasons, it is only fair to allow him to offer his product to others on the open market. They can keep their frankly creepy loyalty card scheme too.

I'm very poor but lucky in that my kid won't starve if I refuse to shop in Tescos or buy Nestle brand. I can't afford an all-organic fair trade totally ethical weekly shop but I can at least avoid the worst offenders iykwim. I have a clear idea in my head of the kind of society I'd like my child to live in when he's an adult & Tesco's is the complete anti-thesis of that.

If Tescos get their way we'll all live in Tescos homes, dependent on Tescos mortgages we can't afford on "flexible" minimum wage contracts eating Tescos GMO foods. Not for me ta velly muchly.

CailinDana - I agree, Tescos' is a business not a charity. But I find their business model unethical, for all the reasons Plomino and Bochead talk about and more.

They (and others) land bank, have very powerful lobbyists. Form 'iron rings' of shops in areas to drive out any competition and they can afford to have loss shops in order to keep out the alternatives.

So there is no real choice. Every Tesco's sells the same stuff, much like any other supermarket. Just because you have the 4 big ones in your area, how much product choice do you really have? The only choice is price and it is a race to the bottom. The only people paying for this are the suppliers.

My FIL owns and runs a shop. He's early 80s and will be retiring soon. The business isn't viable anymore and he is in the process of running it down. He can't afford to stay open 24hrs - staff wages, NI, insurance etc... Nor would he want to, after all he would like some time with his family. So when you say the supermarket is convenient becauses it opens late and is cheaper than local independents - you're right. My FIL can't buy in the volumes needed to bring the down the price or negotiate with the suppliers. He can't be open at 10 at night and he can't offer you food shop, clothes, toys, electricals, jewellery, mortgages, banking etc... all under one roof. But what he can offer is excellent service, sell you the right product for you and be there if something goes wrong.