WHEN it comes to Tesco, the firm likes to say that ‘every little helps’.
Last year group sales increased by 16.7% to £43.1 billion (2005 – £37 billion).
Southport has built its success on the foresight and fortitude of thousands of small shopkeepers and hoteliers, who have built our town’s reputation as a shopping and tourist mecca.
To them, profit margins are often slight, with serious income seasonal. Against such fine lines the burgeoning cash windfalls enjoyed by Tesco seem monstrous.
Now Tesco is due to take over Dobbies Garden World, soon to be built next to Christ The King School.
It would vastly increase Tesco’s influence over Southport. The 24-hour superstore at Kew has recently undergone a significant expansion, while Tesco Metro stores have opened at Birkdale and Churchtown. Another Tesco Metro is currently being built opposite Southport police station.
However, the figures speak for themselves. People from Southport are choosing to use the various Tesco stores in their thousands.
It is up to local shopkeepers to fight back. It is up to them to tell local people ‘Go shopping in Birkdale, or Churchtown, or Ainsdale, or Tarleton, and see what you’ve been missing.
‘You can't beat local shops for real quality, real choice, real people, real communities.’
You can see what Birkdale Village has to offer this weekend, during a festival event organised by traders. Earlier this month, Ainsdale Edwardian Day drew in huge crowds.
Congratulations to traders of both villages, let’s hope their efforts are suitably rewarded.
There’s no use whining about Tesco, traders have to fight their pitch – and with great events such as these, they are doing well.
Let’s hope shoppers are suitably impressed, and here’s to other great local events already being planned for the future.
As the slogan says – every little helps.
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