It's All At The Co-Op Now...

So went the TV advertisement slogan of years ago...

And just maybe it is from now on...

We're in the middle of a bad period economy wise(You could argue depending on your situation)that's nothing new. But prices on the high street are up especially on the essentials that we need to survive such as food, heating, fuel etc...(Of course you'll always find bargains at any time)but you find yourself asking will I part with my money on anything that is not a luxury.

We are, locally, if you allow for having your own transport, access to public transport/taxi's well served for food stores, as many are within a 4-7 miles radius of where I live and a little bit further up the road you can access really large supermarkets attached to large towns in the North East.

And many have satellite(smaller)branches within the footprint of the larger stores)offering the basics that you could run out of. Not forgetting ordering goods online. So all the major players are there. Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Tesco's, ASDA, Co-op(I bet I forget some)and of course the discount stores such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto.

But today finally, Sommerfield succumbed to a takeover bid from the Co-op and now will be known as the Co-op. As yet I am unsure if this means the logo and name disappears for good or the Co-op will be running the whole business but the some will retain the Sommerfield colours and logo.

We had a Sommerfield in our town for many years and it was big enough to serve us well, prices and choices were good enough for most of the townsfolk and then...Tesco's arrived. And the customer base did dip. Which eventually meant that for a variety of reasons Sommerfield decided to pull out. It was said to be due to disagreements over the lease of the property from the owners of the shopping centre and the lack of trade due the new player on the block sealed it's fate.

So for a couple of years we've had an empty retail unit sitting there doing nothing. No competition to speak of, you have to go to Tesco's.

Now, we hear from a variety of places that a new retailer will be taking on this empty building before Christmas, it's speculation so still could fail but it would appear it is a branch of a national retailer that sells a mixture of items of general goods from gardening tools to stationery(Wilkinsons)but we already have two similar stores in town selling similar goods so it's more of the same diluting the market which in turn may see the existing stores profits suffer and we don't need another store like them. Besides, they will be practically next door to each other.

So though I hope and wish the new acquisition will be a success between the Co-op and Sommerfield, for me it is a pity that this did not happen sooner and maybe had it done so the Co-op might've decided to stay in our town and keep a presence in the town offering an alternative food store for the population that lives here. I fear for us it is too late.