>>Stand up and be counted, says Nigel Dowdney, independent retailer, MD of Opolka and director of Redorange
I have been an independent shop owner in Stalham, Norfolk, for 27 years, during which time a plethora of other small shops in the high street existed in happy competition.
A Tesco opened on a greenfield site near the high street three years ago. In the week it opened, my turnover fell by 50% and did not recover for two years.
Even then, it did not return us to pre-Tesco levels and was at the expense of other businesses lost in the town.
I lost nine jobs and have not replaced anyone. The value of my business on the open market fell by £100,000 within days.
In the following weeks, the Co-op became a funeral parlour, while the fishmonger, fruit and veg shop, clothes shop, bookshop, pine furniture shop, craft shop and DIY shop all closed, as did various other retailers and the historic pub.
All this was because of unfair competition and loss of footfall. The Tuesday market, which once averaged 100 stalls, now averages 10-15 stalls.
Our average sales uplift on a Tuesday (once the busiest day of the week) was 30% and the town would be full of people. Tuesdays no longer show any uplift.
Last year Somerfield, housed in a historic building, closed, followed by The Clock House Café, the Cottage Bakery and Carousel Interiors.
Somerfield’s turnover fell from £70,000 per week to £15,000 in the week Tesco opened and in the next two years only went up to £19,000 per week, due entirely to the long hours of the manager.
Tesco got permission for a petrol station in an area where there was plentiful supply. It also got permission to rearrange the access roads into Stalham, so now the first thing you see on arriving is a Tesco.
It is a myth expounded by Tesco that its stores bring prosperity and customers to surrounding businesses. Ask it to give an example. I posed this question in 2001 and it was unable to do so.
Finally, Stalham is attached to one of the largest staithes (boatyards) on the Norfolk Broads. Until 2002, my business had an uplift of 35-40% in the tourist season. Since 2002, shops in Stalham have had an uplift of only 7%. Tesco was built directly between the staithe and the town, robbing the high street of its historical lifeblood.
The councillor who chaired the planning committee has said that with hindsight, he
was not aware of the full implications of the opening of a superstore for the local business community.
In 2003, local businesses applied for a cut in business rates. Inspections resulted in a cut of 20% due to, and I quote, “the detrimental effect the building of a Tesco has had on the town”.
Ironically, Tesco has had the rateable value of its property reduced from £763,000 to £703,000 as a result.
Tesco built a large café area, which it argued was not part of the retail area and was outside the size limits which the authorities had placed on the development.
Two weeks before Christmas 2004, it announced plans to close down the café and turn it into an area selling electrical goods, CDs and books. We opposed this, as it would result in the store becoming significantly larger. Following the objections of the local business community, the council investigated. We were disappointed, given the way the Tesco store had wreaked havoc on our livelihoods, to be told by the council that the larger retail area being run by Tesco was not in contravention of the original planning permission.
We live in apprehension as to what Tesco will get up to next. We are concerned as to what the plans are for the huge storage areas for the store, which with ‘just in time deliveries’ we believe are not utilised to their full extent.
Those interested in protecting their local economies and businesses against such blatant profiteering should stand up and be counted now, before it is too late.
I have been an independent shop owner in Stalham, Norfolk, for 27 years, during which time a plethora of other small shops in the high street existed in happy competition.
A Tesco opened on a greenfield site near the high street three years ago. In the week it opened, my turnover fell by 50% and did not recover for two years.
Even then, it did not return us to pre-Tesco levels and was at the expense of other businesses lost in the town.
I lost nine jobs and have not replaced anyone. The value of my business on the open market fell by £100,000 within days.
In the following weeks, the Co-op became a funeral parlour, while the fishmonger, fruit and veg shop, clothes shop, bookshop, pine furniture shop, craft shop and DIY shop all closed, as did various other retailers and the historic pub.
All this was because of unfair competition and loss of footfall. The Tuesday market, which once averaged 100 stalls, now averages 10-15 stalls.
Our average sales uplift on a Tuesday (once the busiest day of the week) was 30% and the town would be full of people. Tuesdays no longer show any uplift.
Last year Somerfield, housed in a historic building, closed, followed by The Clock House Café, the Cottage Bakery and Carousel Interiors.
Somerfield’s turnover fell from £70,000 per week to £15,000 in the week Tesco opened and in the next two years only went up to £19,000 per week, due entirely to the long hours of the manager.
Tesco got permission for a petrol station in an area where there was plentiful supply. It also got permission to rearrange the access roads into Stalham, so now the first thing you see on arriving is a Tesco.
It is a myth expounded by Tesco that its stores bring prosperity and customers to surrounding businesses. Ask it to give an example. I posed this question in 2001 and it was unable to do so.
Finally, Stalham is attached to one of the largest staithes (boatyards) on the Norfolk Broads. Until 2002, my business had an uplift of 35-40% in the tourist season. Since 2002, shops in Stalham have had an uplift of only 7%. Tesco was built directly between the staithe and the town, robbing the high street of its historical lifeblood.
The councillor who chaired the planning committee has said that with hindsight, he
was not aware of the full implications of the opening of a superstore for the local business community.
In 2003, local businesses applied for a cut in business rates. Inspections resulted in a cut of 20% due to, and I quote, “the detrimental effect the building of a Tesco has had on the town”.
Ironically, Tesco has had the rateable value of its property reduced from £763,000 to £703,000 as a result.
Tesco built a large café area, which it argued was not part of the retail area and was outside the size limits which the authorities had placed on the development.
Two weeks before Christmas 2004, it announced plans to close down the café and turn it into an area selling electrical goods, CDs and books. We opposed this, as it would result in the store becoming significantly larger. Following the objections of the local business community, the council investigated. We were disappointed, given the way the Tesco store had wreaked havoc on our livelihoods, to be told by the council that the larger retail area being run by Tesco was not in contravention of the original planning permission.
We live in apprehension as to what Tesco will get up to next. We are concerned as to what the plans are for the huge storage areas for the store, which with ‘just in time deliveries’ we believe are not utilised to their full extent.
Those interested in protecting their local economies and businesses against such blatant profiteering should stand up and be counted now, before it is too late.
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