Do you think the likes of home bargains/b&m need to close?

[mammamia345]

I don't understand why they are open.
Keep the supermarkets open (obviously ) but the majority of people don't go in home bargains etc for food so just close them.
They don't need to be open.

@Quaagars it's bonkers isn't it? Don't buy your kid a coat is just hysteria!

Ryman's is open!? Discuss.

Essential stationery anyone? 🤯

Oh for goodness sake it doesn't take a genius to work out food (whatever you like to eat whether it be a broccoli or a block of cheese ) is essential ...a lamp/scented candle isn't.
If your desperate for a coat order online.
You need food to survive it's pretty self explanatory

I’m massively excited they’re open, I’m moving out into a council property and I will have nothing. House items are essential to some!

Plussizejumpsuit exactly - I buy 89p workbooks/ how to tell the time books for my youngest in Home Bargains. They're wipe clean - they can be used a few times. I don't pay delivery charges. A fiver goes a long way in Home Bargains - for some people that mightn't be a big deal but for most outside the Mumsnet bubble it most definitely is.

Leave B&M alone, you rotter. It sells food and hardware. I buy a lot of my weekly food shop there, especially the things my mum wants.

In the first lockdown didn't they stay open but cordon off the non essential aisles?

I agree especially if we go into a full lockdown

The majority of items for sale in my local Home Bargains are food (including some fresh/chilled foods), toiletries, medicines and cleaning products. All of these are classed as essential, so I'm not sure why they should have to close? Tape off shelves of stuff like toys and lampshades if necessary, but why close them altogether?

I really hope this will see an end to us exposing retail workers when it’s not necessary. At least for the moment, when rates are so high. We all know these stores don’t need to be open. We talk of the economy etc but I suspect for many it’s just that they want somewhere to go, something to do and screw the lives of those working there.

The items sold in the likes of b and m and home bargains are so much cheaper than the supermarkets.. cleaning products, toiletries, household essentials.. not everyone can afford to shop at Tesco

@mammamia345

Oh for goodness sake it doesn't take a genius to work out food (whatever you like to eat whether it be a broccoli or a block of cheese ) is essential ...a lamp/scented candle isn't. If your desperate for a coat order online. You need food to survive it's pretty self explanatory

Why?

Much of the food sold in supermarkets isn't just 'non-essential'. It's positively unhealthy. Whereas if your lamp - using your example - has just given up and you need lighting in order to work, what with it being dark much of the time right now, then a lamp might be considered essential.

Note I'm not advocating for people to be banned from buying broccoli. Just pointing out the arbitrary nature of the 'non-essential' discussion. Why is it OK to have social outings - as some here are suggesting - in the frozen food but not the sewing supplies aisle?

I’m in Scotland so we are In a lockdown now but the last lockdown b and m cornered off there toy isle.

@NeverEnoughTea

I really hope this will see an end to us exposing retail workers when it’s not necessary. At least for the moment, when rates are so high. We all know these stores don’t need to be open. We talk of the economy etc but I suspect for many it’s just that they want somewhere to go, something to do and screw the lives of those working there.

Have the staff working in these shops - but not in Waitrose or Tesco - demanded they be shut?

B&M and Homebargains tend to be cheaper for toiletries and cleaning products than supermarkets. Just because they, like supermarkets also sell non essential items doesn't mean they don't also sell essential items.

Why on earth is Ryman open?? Their poor staff. For god’s sake. Business stationery? Printer ink? Get it online! I remember they were closed during the first lockdown.

Unnecessary food items - alcohol, sweets, ice-cream, chocolate, biscuits, cake, crisps, fizzy drinks, cordials, etc etc. Pull 'em all off the shelves. How dare anyone buy anything unnecessary.

@IcedPurple I doubt they have that luxury.

HB, B&M, The Range, all essential for the reasons others have said. There’s an Iceland in our Range store.

Honestly some people would just love ration books, curfews and jail time for buying a candle to be implemented.

House hold items are essential to some of us! And we can’t all afford expensive places or pay for delivery.

In two weeks I will be homeless with nothing, and will need cheap household goods, like a toilet brush, cleaning items, towels everything.

[quote NeverEnoughTea]@IcedPurple I doubt they have that luxury.[/quote]
So basically, you'v taken it upon yourself to speak on their behalf?

They also don't have the luxury of risking losing their jobs for good, which might very well happen if Tesco and Amazon take all their business, as you and others on this thread appear to want.

@BRAV0Juliet

Ryman's is open!? Discuss.

Essential stationery anyone? 🤯

Wfh means it's essential. That's pretty obvious

@mammamia345

Oh for goodness sake it doesn't take a genius to work out food (whatever you like to eat whether it be a broccoli or a block of cheese ) is essential ...a lamp/scented candle isn't. If your desperate for a coat order online. You need food to survive it's pretty self explanatory

Yes, you need food to survive but you don't need every single food available in a supermarket to survive. Nobody will keel over without ice-cream or fancy stuffed pasta.

However if you work from home and your light breaks or you run out of lightbulbs, you're going to need to go somewhere to buy a new one.

The point is - supermarkets sell food so they are deemed essential. B&M and Home Bargains also sell food, so they come under the same category.

I think the problem is that in densely populated areas if you close everything except the supermarket you are putting huge pressure on what is open. If you have a few different places open it will help a little. In the first lockdown it was even so difficult to go for a walk without running in to crowds because there are only so many parcs and a lot of people going for a walk.

Easy for you to speak from your privileged pedestal. Maybe spend you’re time worrying about schools being open (the real areas of transmission)or ensuring the vaccines are rolled out.