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, bakery, diary and delicatessen products. Rememeber, it'll be easy to park at Tesco, too.
Car care – products in sale at Tesco include screen wash, glass cleaner, shampoos and polishes. The only place where such products are currently available in Rhuthun/Ruthin is Bridge Services’ small range, so expect that outlet to be affected.
Clothing – Tesco promises underwear, socks, tights, etc. No designer clothes, perhaps, but the range of everyday basic clothes may threaten Ethel Austin on the Square. The picture in Tesco’s brochure clearly shows t-shirts at £1.75 each. Who can beat that?
Electrical – kettles, toasters, microwaves and probably bulbs, plugs and fuses, too. This will affect Lewis Electrics to a degree (though Tesco won’t be stocking ovens) and, to a lesser extent, King’s. Mind you, Lewis’ did shut its town centre small appliance shop some two years ago, in favour of its less accessible (to those without a car) warehouse at Lon Parcwr.
Greetings Cards – there are a couple of town centre outlets currently that might suffer at the hand of Tesco.
Toys – Harris Toys, Clwyd Street, must find it difficult to compete with the likes of the breadth of goods at Chester and Llandudno’s Toys ‘R’ Us, without the added problem of Tesco’s range on its doorstep.
Homewares/Home Utilities – we aren’t sure that “home utilities” means but, lumping these together, this could pose a problem for King’s, Well Street.
How much trade loss can small retailers take before profit margins are squeezed so much that they have to close? We estimate as low as 10 per cent. Which means Rhuthun/Ruthin loses the expertise once available to it, because Tesco is unlikely to help you chose one product over another.
And there are a couple of other surprises. Tesco will sell mobile telephony equipment. There’s currently nowhere we know of in Rhuthun/Ruthin currently selling such products.
And there will be a range of (popular?) CDs and DVDs. Again, these aren’t generally for sale in Rhuthun/Ruthin.
Here’s a synopsis of those areas other than grocery, alcohol, bakery, diary and delicatessen products. Rememeber, it'll be easy to park at Tesco, too.
Car care – products in sale at Tesco include screen wash, glass cleaner, shampoos and polishes. The only place where such products are currently available in Rhuthun/Ruthin is Bridge Services’ small range, so expect that outlet to be affected.
Clothing – Tesco promises underwear, socks, tights, etc. No designer clothes, perhaps, but the range of everyday basic clothes may threaten Ethel Austin on the Square. The picture in Tesco’s brochure clearly shows t-shirts at £1.75 each. Who can beat that?
Electrical – kettles, toasters, microwaves and probably bulbs, plugs and fuses, too. This will affect Lewis Electrics to a degree (though Tesco won’t be stocking ovens) and, to a lesser extent, King’s. Mind you, Lewis’ did shut its town centre small appliance shop some two years ago, in favour of its less accessible (to those without a car) warehouse at Lon Parcwr.
Greetings Cards – there are a couple of town centre outlets currently that might suffer at the hand of Tesco.
Toys – Harris Toys, Clwyd Street, must find it difficult to compete with the likes of the breadth of goods at Chester and Llandudno’s Toys ‘R’ Us, without the added problem of Tesco’s range on its doorstep.
Homewares/Home Utilities – we aren’t sure that “home utilities” means but, lumping these together, this could pose a problem for King’s, Well Street.
How much trade loss can small retailers take before profit margins are squeezed so much that they have to close? We estimate as low as 10 per cent. Which means Rhuthun/Ruthin loses the expertise once available to it, because Tesco is unlikely to help you chose one product over another.
And there are a couple of other surprises. Tesco will sell mobile telephony equipment. There’s currently nowhere we know of in Rhuthun/Ruthin currently selling such products.
And there will be a range of (popular?) CDs and DVDs. Again, these aren’t generally for sale in Rhuthun/Ruthin.