Showing posts from July, 2006
If, to Tesco, the numbers arriving for 9 a.m. were a disappointment, by 10.30, the car park was full and the checkouts in complete chaos. It stayed that way throughout the day. Where customers were all coming from, I know not. It really did surprise m…
Within less than five minutes of Tesco opening its doors for the first time this morning, a fire alarm saw its customers trooping back out into the rain. This slight embarrassment occurred at 9.05 a.m., shortly after the entrance rollers went up for…
Is today the most significant day in Rhuthun/Ruthin’s recent history? We would suggest that the grand opening of Tesco Rhuthun/Ruthin at 9 a.m. marks a turning point in the town’s story when, in term of shopping, it joined the 21st century. Ever s…
Now that Tesco has told us what it’s likely to be selling in Rhuthun/Ruthin, expect some competition from the giant retailer in unlikely quarters, in areas we certainly didn’t anticipate. Here’s a synopsis of those areas other than grocery, alcohol,…
Adverts for the new Rhuthun/Ruthin Tesco appeared in the Denbighshire Free Press this week, at the same time as a major postal snail mailshot in the area. A Welsh language press advert including map was on page 7 of the Free Press, whereas the Engli…
It’s actually quite amazing just how quickly Tesco has sprung up. It’s been under six months from site entrance to opening day. Watkin Jones builders entered the site on behalf of Cathco Property Group developers, on 16 March 2006, only just after t…
A busy week in Rhuthun/Ruthin for Tesco, as preparations continue: o At the seven day count down mark, signs appeared to let the public know o the store was to open. One was bilingual Welsh first, the other the reverse. o Large numbers of delivery l…
With five days to go till Tesco opens, here’s a selection of thoughts from Rhuthun/Ruthin people about the coming of Tesco to the town: It’s good for Rhuthun/Ruthin. I think it will bring people into town. Let’s hope there’s room for both of them (C…
In Part 1 , we introduced Tesco Clubcard. Use one of these regularly you are rewarded with points and vouchers. It also exposes your shopping habits in a way that you never imagined. Tesco builds a picture of you and your family across ten key categor…
Signs increase that Tesco in Rhuthun/Ruthin’s just around the corner. A bilingual sign, Welsh first, appeared today outside Tesco Rhuthun/Ruthin, announcing to the world that the store’s to open in seven day’s time, at 9.00 a.m., that’s an hour late…
The mystery of the high Tesco sign at Rhuthun/Ruthin is over. First, it was roof bound. Then it disappeared following complaints from neighbours. Now, as of Friday, it has appeared below the roof line, at the front of the building. Also, I had an o…
It won't always be like this but last night, at about 7 p.m., the Co-op was absolutely crowded. There were long queues at all available checkouts and especially at the express till. So crowded, in fact, that I chose to put my items back, and went …
No doubt, Tesco will be encouraging us all to opt into its Clubcard scheme. There’s a potential 12,000 people in Rhuthun/Ruthin and its rural hinterland to entice. Each time you shop, the till operatives will ask if you (a) have a Clubcard [supplem…
As chick flicks go, this 1998 romantic comedy’s a safe bet. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan suit each other in this exposé of internet chat, messaging and cyber romance. They hate each other professionally but don't realise they are falling in love over th…
Where’s it gone? What’s happened to that Tesco sign announcing itself and mounted high on the yet-to-be-completed Tesco building in Rhuthun/Ruthin? Before Proving that Tesco can be sensitive, they've removed it. This is in the face of ang…
Here’s a rare sight, of the former Lo-cost (now Co-op) building, without any parked cars. This was to enable the resurfacing of the car park in the wake of Tesco’s iminent opening. How full will its car park be on 31 July, when Tesco opens?
Lo-cost is to resurface its car park, tomorrow and Monday. The car park will be closed. This 11th hour act may be designed to improve its perception among the people of Rhuthun/Ruthin, with Tesco about to open. Management have presumably figured t…
In spite of its larger population that Rhuthun/Ruthin, Dinbych/Denbigh’s never been quite so prosperous. This is perhaps one reason why the food retailers in the town are as they are. Another, is the arrival in 1998 of Safeway (Wm Morrison’s, since 20…
Should those who criticise the arrival of Tesco be a little less hypocritical of its presence in Rhuthun/Ruthin? Reason? Tesco had a local store here (at what is now the Village Bakery in Stryt y Ffynnon) till 1982. It closed because Tesco’s then stra…
I asked some staff at Somerfield what they thought was in store (ooops, pun) when Tesco opens at the end of the month. They all smiled. One said, “We’re all hoping it will be OK. We do hope so.” Another was equally non-committal. “I don’t really kno…
More news is emerging about the Tesco store for Rhuthun/Ruthin. It opens at 0800 on 31 July 2006 and not 7 August as first thought, with the official opening ceremony at 1000. The person cutting the ribbon (so to speak) will be the Denbighshire Free…
This blog has continually speculated on the fate or otherwise of the town centre shops and Rhuthun/Ruthin’s two supermarkets. But what might happen to Bridge Services, aka Texaco service station/convenience shop? Last summer, the shop part of Bridge S…
Developers Bryant Homes (aka Taylor Woodrow) are expected to pay £7m for the phase one of the Glasdir development, north of Rhuthun/Ruthin. This will give them 178 houses to build, as part of a 25 acre, 230-house development. On average, that's £4…
Tesco, fresh from being a sponsor for the Spring’s Urdd Eisteddfod in Rhuthun/Ruthin, is also a main sponsor at Yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol/International Eisteddfod, in Llangollen. This is sufficiently removed from Rhuthun/Ruthin to be of no local sign…
Tesco sponsored this year’s Top of Town, the culmination of the Ruthin Festival. It features live music and from 2 p.m. is family friendly, attracting 3,000 people that afternoon and evening. Top of Town, however, has turned itself into a beer swillin…
