Posters on the Bungo Blog seem to think that the arrival of Sainsbury is like the arrival of a new local shop and that they can influence what it stocks and how it behaves.
It is an outpost of a corporation that has no interest in being responsive to us or our community. We are simply another dot on the map and a source of profit.
Sainsbury has a plan to create more and more of these ‘convenience’ stores around the country – opening two new ones every week.*
Competing with the other supermarket giants is hard but I suppose it’s easier to compete with small local shops, so they are stepping into that market with 440 ‘local’ stores so far, taking in over £1billion in sales.*
The operation of Sainsburys is a £21 billion business, comprising of a thousand UK stores, representing about 17% of UK supermarket business. Profit after tax is around the half a billion mark.*
When Sainsburys make their profit, it makes no difference to the lives of people living in Glasgow. The largest shareholder is a private investment company owned by the Qatari royal family. They hold 25% of voting rights in the company.*
I am not advocating that we all knit our own clothes and grow all our own food but we must be thoughtful and realistic about what sort of companies we do business with and what the consequences are.
Buying your loaf or tin of beans in Sainsbury will do nothing to support the men and women retailers of the area who have served us well. We are lucky to have a good selection of shops to find everything from Arborio rice to handmade ceramics. Practically all of the list of desired products that was posted on the blog, can be bought within walking distance. We all know that it does not take much to blight an area and boarded up shops can be the first sign.
The other claim is that somehow all the local businesses need a push to be better. I honestly cannot think of any instance of bad service or poor quality from people I have known for nearly 15 years.
I would ask everyone to think for a moment if you really want to give your money to the faceless institutional investment shareholders of Sainsbury ?
Or should we instead continue to enjoy going into the local shops ?
Let’s buy our milk and mayo, fresh fruit and chops, greetings cards and flowers, newspapers and lotto tickets, olives and manchego, aspirins and coffee, organic bread and handmade sausages from people we know and chat to, who live here and who are interested in listening to what we want, so that their business and livelihood will survive. By doing so, we will keep alive the community that we value so much in Strathbungo.
* http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/investor-centre/reports/2012/annual-report-and-financial-statements-2012/
Agreed. The slick presentation and low prices on many items at these small Sainburys can be tempting, but a lot of the local convenience stores have even better prices and better quality. I’ve been making an effort to use the local stores rather than the Sainburys on Victoria Road.
For example, the convenience store closest to me (On the east side of Pollokshaws, just north of Torrisdale, next to the charity shop) has an excellent selection of fresh dairy products, Mortons rolls, and eggs that often look and taste like free range even though they’re not labelled as such (and they’re 6/£1). They also have a lot of cleaning and paper products that are priced competitively. They often have individual onions and potatoes for a low price, too. It’s a great little shop.
I dont see the issue. it has created jobs for local people. it adds to the area looks good. and is open later than other shops all good things. you lot need to calm down and get with the times