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.

@speakout

How are B&M different from Tesco?

They both sell food, pet food and supplies, fresh sandwiches, milk, bread, chiller stuff like cooked meat.
They both sell toys, crafts, stationary, some DIY and housewares, toiletries and make up.

What's the difference?

Difference is the majority of mumsnet doesn't care about B&M because they can get all they need from Waitrose/ Ocado ;)

@Brokenchair1

Agree. Out local one is heaving. Everything you need from there can be got as ASDA or Tesco at similar price. People use it as an excuse to shop.

Actuallty Asda and Tesco are both more expensive but what's better?

Home Bargains/B & M (5 min drive 20 min walk)

Asda/Tesco (20 min drive 2.5hr walk)

People are using it as an excuse to go out.

Having worked myself in a supermarket for a while during the last lockdown. For god sake - stop the family and couple shopping. There is no need for it in many many cases, yes, I get people have nothing to do, I get that they normally like to have mooch around but there will be plenty of time for that in the future.

Unless you are desperate dont take your kids around the shops.

People are using it as an excuse to go out.

But why is Home Bargains more at fault for this than Tesco or Waitrose?

I buy pet food, cleaning products and food from there, and its cheaper. I couldn't afford it all from the supermarket. They sell nappies,.creams, and shampoo etc too , I dont think they should close at all

@PurpleDaisies

I don’t think there’s much evidence that those sorts of shops are driving transmission.

Theres a difference between 'there is no evidence' and 'there is evidence that non-essential retail is NOT driving...'.

Also need to know what counts as evidence (RCTs?). Just because 'there is no evidence' does not mean that retail is not driving numbers. Might mean that it isnt posdible to know where outbreaks are originating from over a certain daily increase in infections for example.

Listen to public health experts (not politicians - esp UK politicians). They have most visibility of numbers. If they believe non essential retail should close then....

Please dont listen to trolls, who have zero expertise and possibly an angle to play. And dont listen to the selfish voice inside (I have this as much as anyone else) that says you should be an exception or that its not as bad as 'the hype' makes out.

Dominic Cummings has a lot to answer for. But I believe most people are actually better at being human beings than he showed himself to be.

Quite a bit of snobbery here I think.

They sell medical supplies so of course they should open

Clearly OP doesn't shop in these places. They sell toiletries, pet food, cleaning products, food, DIY and baby supplies. All considered essential. Yes they also sell candles and tat but so does the Sainsbury's, which also has an Argos in it (currently open in tier 4). I'm for anything which makes it less likely we'll run out of toilet roll again and means shoppers are more spread out.

At the big Sainsburys near to where I work the first third of the shop is clothing crockery, electronics, shoes, stationery, greetings cards, bedding and Argos.

"icedpurple" because often these shops are smaller with tighter aisles and a lot harder to social distance in. Also people are using them to shop for non essentials.

Most people if they have a home bargain close will also have one of the other cheaper stores nearby eg Aldi Lidl ASDA etc. I also think poundland should close for similar reasons. I just think it's too hard to maintain social distancing in them.

Id rather see more shops close before schools close.

I do agree somewhat. I went to b&m yesterday for bread and milk as couldn’t be assed with the supermarket. I can’t complain as I was in there too but most people weren’t buying essentials. Not judging this at all. I have been known to go b&m just for something to do (not so much in recent times). People were being good with distancing etc so it wasn’t all bad. But if they can stay open, businesses will as they don’t want to lose money even though big companies won’t be as affected as smaller ones that are forced to shut 😱

@caringcarer

The more things close the better ATM. Places of worship, garden centres, playgrounds and parks, funerals to reduce to 10 mourners, non essential shops should be just that supermarket and small convenience food shops only. In April takeaways were closed until end of May where I live. Schools closed too but online learning should be more consistent for all children primary get 4 hours daily and 5 hours each day for secondary children and all exams cancelled. Boris must take this chance to try to get ahead of the mutated strain before it spreads exponentially up the whole of UK. He can't be behind the game this time. He has just announced he will read a 8pm statement.

Are you trying to see how many threads you can copy and paste that on?

Difference is the majority of mumsnet doesn't care about B&M because they can get all they need from Waitrose/ Ocado ;)

That’s pretty much it. Although, I don’t think the lack of imagination about other people’s circumstances is just confined to MN. During the 1st lockdown my local FB groups were full of people absolutely losing their shit because Halfords, B&Q (although only for click and collect), Pets at Home and the local agricultural store were open

Just to add. I usually shop a lot at my local home bargain so absolutely not about snobbery but the couple of times i went during last lockdown the aisles were rammed. Maybe ours is smaller than others but I think it is really hard to distance in them. Big superstores tend to have wider aisles.

I'm avoiding mine now Even though i tend to buy all my cleaning supplies etc there. Same with poundland. It's usually my second home but again. Too many people in a narrow aisle.

@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.

Speak for yourself cheapest for a lot of things than a ruddy supermarket.

@Brokenchair1

"icedpurple" because often these shops are smaller with tighter aisles and a lot harder to social distance in. Also people are using them to shop for non essentials.

Most people if they have a home bargain close will also have one of the other cheaper stores nearby eg Aldi Lidl ASDA etc. I also think poundland should close for similar reasons. I just think it's too hard to maintain social distancing in them.

Id rather see more shops close before schools close.

Sadly not as much impact from closing shops. Its been tried.

@Brokenchair1

Just to add. I usually shop a lot at my local home bargain so absolutely not about snobbery but the couple of times i went during last lockdown the aisles were rammed. Maybe ours is smaller than others but I think it is really hard to distance in them. Big superstores tend to have wider aisles.

I'm avoiding mine now Even though i tend to buy all my cleaning supplies etc there. Same with poundland. It's usually my second home but again. Too many people in a narrow aisle.

This. They let everyone in!

@Brokenchair1

"icedpurple" because often these shops are smaller with tighter aisles and a lot harder to social distance in. Also people are using them to shop for non essentials.

Most people if they have a home bargain close will also have one of the other cheaper stores nearby eg Aldi Lidl ASDA etc. I also think poundland should close for similar reasons. I just think it's too hard to maintain social distancing in them.

Id rather see more shops close before schools close.

People are also shopping for 'non-essentials' in Waitrose. Nobody needs artisan sourdough or organic low-carb lentil pasta. As for the narrow aisles, that could be controlled by limiting numbers - which most shops already seem to be doing - rather than making them shut their doors and putting the staff on furlough.

If they sell food they should stay open. For some people it’s the nearest/cheapest place.

b&m is where I get my bits from, I find it a lot
Cheaper than main supermarkets but agree the range, bnq are not essential

Our Home Bargains is one aisle toiletries, one aisle cleaning and petfood, 2 aisles food and drink and a half aisle section of seasonal tat. It is the main affordable walkable place for people round here to get food.

They should just tape off the non-essential aisles. But the supermarkets should do the same.

I’ve never heard of either of these shops. Are they high street shops?

Yes, they should. Otherwise every business except Amazon will shut down eventually.