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.

Close off non essential **

As well as tinned and packet food, drinks, pet food, medicines, toiletries & cleaning products I can get fruit, veg, milk, bread, meat, yoghurt, cheese & frozen food from Home Bargains.

And of course some don’t have access to the internet, a car, the means to buy at supermarket prices but I fail to understand how these people’s needs take precedence over the lives/longterm health of retail workers and their families.

Again though, what evidence do you have that the majority of staff in Home Bargains - but not Waitrose or Tesco - are desperate to shut down and put their jobs at risk long-term? Have you just decided on their behalf? What evidence is there that Home Bargains (but not Tesco) staff have been getting ill at a very high rate? It would be good if you could link to a source providing evidence for your fretting on behalf of Home Bargains (but not Waitrose) staff.

And why is it OK for supermarket staff to take these alleged risks, not to mention warehouse staff working in often cramped, unventilated environments?

No they sell pet supplies, food, medicine, cleaning, toiletries and diy I’d say the majority of what they sell falls into essential items.

They sell things far cheaper than elsewhere and many people wouldn’t be able to order online or pay higher prices.

@Forgetmenot157

If they forced them to close it ff nn essential aisles they would shut and furlough staff as it wouldn't be worth temhem being open.

Why's it OK for larger stores to stay open (often owned by hedge funds, offshore trusts and other very rich people), but somehow not OK for a myriad of small, private shops to open, many of whom have received little or no support and who, in normal times, pay their rightful share of tax, VAT, PAYE, etc? Makes no sense. Do they really want to eliminate all small businesses?

I haven't read all the posts, I'm already losing the will you live frankly.

I don't use those shops (I'd have to drive a distance), but lots of people do (convenience or price) & lots seem to say they're cheaper for a lot of basics (so I'll have to believe them
on that). They seem pretty essential to a lot of people.

Personally I think they should stay open BUT PEOPLE need to take responsibility and go in fir what they NEED, not for something to do/browse around the non essential stuff. Don't rope them off, don't start on the policing if baskets, but shop sensibly & don't dawdle around touching everything & making the shop crowded.

Same with supermarkets selling non essentials.

PEOPLE need to THINK. And behave sensibly. If they don't, more WILL get closed.

@category12

I also get my guinea pigs hay from B&M. Fist bump.

Same here and it’s the only place locally we can get any. Supermarket doesn’t sell it here and our independent pet shop closed down. Without access to hay they will die so pretty essential.

I also get food in B&M as it stocks things that my autistic child will actually eat that is not available in the supermarket.

[quote NeverEnoughTea]@AxMan76 why does WFH make Ryman essential? I survived perfectly well WFH in the first lockdown without Ryman, as did...everyone. I honestly don’t think people understand what ‘essential’ actually means anymore. I think we can safely assume people will find a way if their printer or mouse packs up. There’s this thing called ‘the internet’.[/quote]
I've never seen any more than a handful of people (inc staff) in a Rymans store, so what is the risk of them staying open? It sounds like you want them to close for no reason at all. If shops can open safely, then they should be allowed to stay open, whether "essential" or not. What we need are better policing from the local authorities to check that ALL shops (inc supermarkets) are doing all they can to help stop the spread of covid, including queuing systems, screens, hand gel on entry, etc etc.

@WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants

I haven't read all the posts, I'm already losing the will you live frankly.

I don't use those shops (I'd have to drive a distance), but lots of people do (convenience or price) & lots seem to say they're cheaper for a lot of basics (so I'll have to believe them
on that). They seem pretty essential to a lot of people.

Personally I think they should stay open BUT PEOPLE need to take responsibility and go in fir what they NEED, not for something to do/browse around the non essential stuff. Don't rope them off, don't start on the policing if baskets, but shop sensibly & don't dawdle around touching everything & making the shop crowded.

Same with supermarkets selling non essentials.

PEOPLE need to THINK. And behave sensibly. If they don't, more WILL get closed.

Too many people are too stupid which is why we need more properly enforced restrictions.

Last March, Boris told people to avoid cafes/pubs etc and to social distance. What did the stupid people do? They flocked to the pubs for "one last drink" before they had to close.

We've long since proved that Joe Public can't be trusted to do the sensible thing.

@Lanaa

Yes. There's a Home Bargains appreciation society Facebook group. There are 133000 members. 99.9% of the posts are people buying vases, candles and wax burners. Is ridiculous.

Thanks for introducing me to that group

I think it says a lot more about you if you believe B and M are for non-essentials than it does about those who are shopping there. After supermarkets and DIY stores B and M and Home Bargains are some of the most obviously essential stores. If they were to limit food stores opening to those that sold all of a list of essentials B and M and Home Bargains would almost certainly meet those requirements although many stores people on here want to stay open would not. Limiting food shops to those selling all of bread, milk (or vegan alternative), some form of veg (whether fresh, frozen or tinned as nutritionally it is the same), meat or non-meat protein and washing up liquid or dishwasher tablets would be much fairer and limit openings to stores that are compatible with minimising the numbers of shops people are visiting.

Thanks for introducing me to that group

I can't be the only one who's just been overcome by a sudden uncontrollable urge to go out to Home Bargains and buy a basket full of 'non-essential tat', can I?

@category12

I buy most of my weekly shop at B&M - why the fuck should I have to go somewhere else because they also sell candles and tat?

Blimey, either yours is vastly different to our nearest one or you have an incredibly shit diet!!🤣

Ours only sells tins& crap(biscuits, crisps, sweets, energy drinks) and it has a tiny fridge with milk & cheese.

There's not a vegetable or bit of fruit in sight.

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

Course they would. The same people who were criticising posters for buying Easter Eggs in March. If a shop is open then there should be no restrictions on what you can buy there. If you want a smelly candle to lift your mood or massive family size bar of chocolate then crack on.

Nice to see that the race to the bottom with competitive misery is back in force though.

Lots of people use those shops for food and other essentials.

I always buy all my toiletries & laundry stuff in home bargains as it’s a lot cheaper. I will buy food if I’m there but wouldn’t make a trip just for food.

Could I live with them closing, yes but other people may rely on them, especially if they are local to where they live. Home bargains is the closes shop to my elderly aunts house, it’s literally 2 min walk for her, but to go to a supermarket she would need a bus or someone to drive her.

The post office in the town where my son goes to college is inside Ryman’s. Is that why some are open?

@IcedPurple I have family who work in retail. Supermarkets in fact. They are scared but they accept they have no choice but to work because supermarkets are essential. It’s not about protecting one set of people over another, it’s about protecting those who can be protected.

@Kazzyhoward Anything more than two people - outside, I might add - is a handful, and yet this is against restrictions. But it’s okay if it’s in a shop?

There's not a vegetable or bit of fruit in sight

Maybe that would fit into the other side of the 'most' part of that post perhaps?

Ours only sells tins& crap(biscuits, crisps, sweets, energy drinks) and it has a tiny fridge with milk & cheese.

There's not a vegetable or bit of fruit in sight.

Ours has bread, cereal, milk, cheese, two freezer aisles with plenty of frozen fruit and vegetables, tinned fruit and veg, soup, fresh meat and desserts, soft drinks, alcohol, fruit juice - as well as biscuits, sweets, chocolates and other things.

I would say it has about six-eight aisles dedicated to food. That's B&M. Home Bargains has a smaller selection but still maybe 2-3 aisles of food.

[quote NeverEnoughTea]**@IcedPurple* I have family who work in retail. Supermarkets in fact. They are scared but they accept they have no choice but to work because supermarkets are essential. It’s not about protecting one set of people over another, it’s about protecting those who can* be protected.

@Kazzyhoward Anything more than two people - outside, I might add - is a handful, and yet this is against restrictions. But it’s okay if it’s in a shop?[/quote]
Supermarkets sell food. Home Bargains sell food. Supermarkets therefore are no more 'essential' than bargain shops.

Why don't your family campaign for weekly deliveries of bread and dripping to each home? That way they can be sure no 'non-essential' shopping is taking place.

And again, do you have stats showing that retail staff are at great risk of catching the virus? Or any evidence other than your own anecdotes that Home Bargains staff are desperate to be out of work?

B & M sell a lot of tinned fruit & veg (home Bargains sell fresh). But I get my fruit & veg delivered. b & m is where is get my pasta, rice, noodles, pasta sauce, tinned tuna, flavoured water (all my autistic son will drink), breakfast cereal, tea, coffee, tinned soup, sweet corn, baked beans basically all my store cupboard essentials.

I agree. If shops are open people will go to them. What proportion of the stock at The Range, B&M is food or deemed to be essential? Likewise with Wickes and B&Q, maybe a lightbulb or batteries but not rolls of wallpaper or tins of paint. During the March lockdown The Range sold out of hot tubs, Barbecues and garden furniture - essential to no-one.

@wildraisins. Yes because I’d hazard a guess that a handful of shoppers looking at jumpers in Dorothy Perkins is not causing a rise transmission. Whereas a large building full of young people is.

All the retail outlets ( Non essential& essential ) that I have been to have invested in screening and other measures to make their shops safer, why deprive them of their revenue, the tiny risk is worth keeping as much of the economy going as possible imo.
No one’s forcing you or anyone else to visit them, you can stay at home with your kids making carefully crafted clothes from discarded ‘essential food’ wrappers, if you don’t have an adults coat to cut down to size.

@user1497787065

I agree. If shops are open people will go to them. What proportion of the stock at The Range, B&M is food or deemed to be essential? Likewise with Wickes and B&Q, maybe a lightbulb or batteries but not rolls of wallpaper or tins of paint. During the March lockdown The Range sold out of hot tubs, Barbecues and garden furniture - essential to no-one.

I’d say that at B & M & Home Bargains around 30% is food, 50% toiletries, medicines & cleaning products & 20% toys, electrical & household goods.

OP I am classified CEV so I am not going near any shops any time soon. I also think that many people could try a lot harder to do the right thing and keep themselves and others around them safe. People not following the rules or wearing a mask correctly for no reason annoy me. I am also not at all hard up, just for the record.

I think you are being ridiculous, and not a little snobbish and goady. Just because you do not personally use these shops does not mean they have no merit. Quite the opposite.

And - I'm going to go out on a limb here - how about everybody just takes some fucking personal responsibility for their own behaviour, stops trying to get round the rules, stops nitpicking about the minutiae of the rules (Scotch egg munchers take a bow 🙄) and bloody well GROWS UP? You could make a start and set a shining example.