The People's Supermarket

[MollieO]

Anyone watching. Interested to see how he does competing with Tesco et al.

maryann are you local?

biscuit it closes at 9pm each night. You don't have to do your 4 hours in one go (although most people do) - you can do them in 2 x 2 hour shifts.

I am telling my friend about it too -she's local - Covent Garden - and retired so could do her hours during the day.

That's amazing, thanks Biscuit :)

sadly am in Hampshire - have put it on my facebook page to coax London friends !

Having only seen the first episode i cant imagine why I would shop there. Food didnt seem great, stock was limited and its expensive - I'd just go to the corner shop if I wanted that.
I am a fan of the local, butcher, baker and fruit and veg shop but this just seemed a bit conceited to me.

I think it will take time to get it going. It would be interesting to know more about the start up of the Brooklyn supermarket - what they did and how long it took them to get established.

Having seen the first episode you can't really guess what it's going to be like or what the costings will be. Conceited is bollocks... If they'd opened it in Stoke Newington the attitude may well have been totally different. He's opening it in an area where it's actually needed.

I think it's brilliant and would love one near us, but too small a community to make it work. This kind of thing needs BIG cities to function.

Carolina I can tell you from working there that there's nothing conceited about it! What made you think it was conceited?
As for the stock being limited, didn't you see the bit where I was explained that Arthur didn't have the funds to pay for lots of stock initially? That episode was filmed when the store first opened. There's lots more now, and the quality is great!

I've just watched this and loved it. I was wondering if there was a member on here

If there was a shop like this near me I would most certainly become a member and work the necessary shifts.

It's a beautiful thing to see a community coming together and working together for the benefit of each other and the producers.

There will always be haters (yes you red lady t-shirt!) and they're the ones who then have the cheek and front to shop there once it is all up and running and the real hard slog has been done

Tigerbear what seemes conceited was the idea that it was any better than any other corner shop - the stock was poor and expensive.
Like I said I have only seen the first episode so I am sure I will see how it develops. If they stock good quality food at reasonable prices then it will no longer be conceited but from what I saw, it seemed that way to me.
And No I didnt read what you wrote, I am looking at the series

I did think they would be better off having some sort of 'angle' to the food- not just the usual brands, but maybe that's what it is now.I would work there for a few hours a month for 10% off my food if i was close enough or they did something like that near us. Some of the people they spoke to, especially red t shirt woman and her friend just seemed to be waiting for it to fall flat on it's face and not want to contribute at all! I'd have thought they would be retired and have time to do something for their community- just goes to show some people are all talk!
The food waste was ridiculous! Supermarkets really need to be pulled up on this. Us recycling and not wasting food etc is just not going to be enough if businesses don't pull their weight as well! Best before dates are just there to make us throw away perfectly good food and buy more and it means shops have to throw food away as well!

I think the problem is that the shop has opened in a part of London where I'm sure the commercial rents are extremely high, but judging from what we saw in the first episode and the large blocks of flats, many of the residents are on quite low incomes and are very price sensitive. Although I'm sure there's some very expensive property around there too - for the Bloomsbury types.

I used to work in that part of London, and you would not call it a typical residential area - much more well known for offices and restaurants. I would have thought this concept would do better in a more suburban, residential area.

10% off the food is not going to be an incentive for people if the food prices are too high in the first place.

I think it's a great idea and hope it's a success, but I fear that Lamb's Conduit Street isn't the right place for it.

Iliketomoveit and Noeyedear you're spot on there about the haters - the ones who complain are usually the ones who sit back and do nothing, instead of trying to help in some way!

Carolina it was explained in the programme that Arthur didn't have the funds to buy lots of stock at the outset, which is why the range was limited and didn't look that great when we first opened. There's a really good selection now, with nice bread, cakes, local wine, flowers, etc.

Maryann thanks for the Facebook mention.

georgeEliot I fear the same thing regarding Lamb's Conduit Street being the right area. The area is definitely very mixed, and not a typical residential area. That was one of the problems we had at Christmas - most of the volunteers were away out of the city over the festive period, leaving a significant shortfall in staff needed to man the store.

Carolina - you seem to have missed the point a bit! Unlike the corner shop the people's supermarket is 'owned by' and run for the benefit of the people (the local community who shop there).

It is far from "conceited" - although now I am re-reading your post I can't really understand what you mean by that I'm afraid.

Anyone watching tonight?

Anyone?

Yes - I think this is a fantastic concept. Would like to be a part of something locally - and also to visit the US version. Watching with interest.

Hello MrsPink, excellent, do you live in the area?

Yes, I watched. We shop there a bit - we like the vegetables a lot. It's great to see some of the backstory on the TV show - though obviously it is rather staged to heighten the drama ( think Josie has been goaded to act in a certain way, and to be won over etc....) I hope it works, really do. The prices seem to fluctuate a fair bit - but the stuff is always really good quality and the atmosphere inside the shop is just so different from the horrid behemoth money-squeezing machines of Tescos et al.

Hi Telsa - nice to see another local :)
Josie is just the same in real life! Always very vocal during the member meetings :)
You're right - the atmosphere in there is fab compared to the horrid Sainsbury's at Holborn!

I'd love to see something like this in the area of London in which I live. I work very close to that Sainsbury's tigerbear, it is indeed grim! I am on maternity leave at the moment but will check out the People's Supermarket (hopefully it'll still bebgoing strong!) when I return to work.

Somewhat annoyed they let Cameron through the portals of it today for his press do. For one thing, I couldn't go in - for another thing, I don't want the ConDems to claim it as part of 'Big Society'.

Coco hopefully it will still be there! :)
The Programme is clearly getting the message out there - sales last week following the first Programme were up 40%!

telsa - re DC, I know, but I guess all publicity is good, as him being there today means we'll prob get a mention on the news again tonight :)

It's a great idea. I wish there was something like it near where I live.

Anyone watching tonight?