from Paul Baxter, trading director, TM Retail

Sir; Instead of bemoaning the fact the multiples are snapping up convenience stores, independents and symbol groups should see it as an opportunity to capitalise on products and services not offered by the newcomers.

A recent letter in the Daily Mail from a reader from Bicester says Tesco stopped home news deliveries when it bought the local Dillons store and made her 14-year-old daughter and seven other papergirls and boys redundant.

TM Retail has two excellent stores in Bicester, More and McColl’s, and there, as in other towns and villages, we are buying up news delivery rounds from companies such as Tesco. I believe that independent retailers and others would do better to look for gaps in the market, rather than worrying about the impact that the newcomers might be having on their business.

Certainly at TM Retail we believe that our stores are as good as anyone else in the market. In locations such as Oxford Road in Manchester our McColl’s store is performing well right next to a Tesco Express.

In recent months TM Retail has introduced several initiatives into the home news delivery market, including the launch of the first magazine “instore catalogue” which offers over 3,000 titles.

These catalogues allow customers to select and order their magazines and have them delivered to their homes.

Our strategy to increase the home delivery of magazines is a winner, and demonstrates that the opportunities for non-multiple c-stores can be enormous if one is prepared to be innovative, tap into new concepts and expand the service offer overall.