At first, it seemed strange that Tesco should tell Rhuthun of its discounted petrol offer. One thing Tesco in Rhuthun’s not got is a petrol filling station. With its five large signs above the checkouts and one outside at the entrance, is Tesco wasting its time?
Then I recalled comments from people in the town at the time Tesco was building, who would’ve welcomed a Tesco filling station. As we commented in December 2006, “During both Tesco’s pre-construction phase and the period when it was submitting what was to be its failed enlargement application*, there was a noticeable groundswell of people who, though not necessarily either pro- or anti-Tesco, did comment that the best thing Tesco could do was build a petrol station in Rhuthun.”
Those people who pass Tesco filling stations at Yr Wyddgrug/Mold, Wrecsam or Cyffordd Llandudno Junction may therefore welcome the offer. Spend £50 in Tesco Rhuthun to get 5p per litre off petrol of diesel may be an attractive option. And petrol’s cheaper at Tesco than Rhuthun in any case.
The result is petrol at nine per cent saving on Rhuthun prices.
What are the implications for petrol retail businesses in Rhuthun? Small filling stations are already unable to compete against the likes of Tesco. Their wholesale purchase price is higher than Tesco’s retail. Rhuthun filling stations may offer perceived higher costs but we also need a network of garages selling petrol. As was so vividly demonstrated in Llangollen in October 2005, the last of Llangollen’s filling stations was due to close altogether. Tesco’s 5p off may only be an offer but it can affect the margins of smaller petrol retailers, even when the nearest Tesco filling station is 11 miles away at Yr Wyddgrug.
The petrol businesses in Rhuthun may have felt reasonably secure in the knowledge that there were to be no Tesco pumps in Rhuthun – can they feel so confident now? Or is the 5ppl discount likely to apply to those people already buying their fuel at Tesco in any case?
* A planning inspector overturned the decision, on appeal by Tesco
Then I recalled comments from people in the town at the time Tesco was building, who would’ve welcomed a Tesco filling station. As we commented in December 2006, “During both Tesco’s pre-construction phase and the period when it was submitting what was to be its failed enlargement application*, there was a noticeable groundswell of people who, though not necessarily either pro- or anti-Tesco, did comment that the best thing Tesco could do was build a petrol station in Rhuthun.”
Those people who pass Tesco filling stations at Yr Wyddgrug/Mold, Wrecsam or Cyffordd Llandudno Junction may therefore welcome the offer. Spend £50 in Tesco Rhuthun to get 5p per litre off petrol of diesel may be an attractive option. And petrol’s cheaper at Tesco than Rhuthun in any case.
| Sample pump prices per litre | Unleaded | Diesel |
| Rhuthun Bridge Services | 99.9p | 101.9p |
| Rhuthun Dyffryn Services | 99.9p | 101.9p |
| Sainsbury's Y Rhyl | 95.9p | 96.9p |
| Tesco's Yr Wyddgrug | 96.9p | 97.9p |
| Tesco's Yr Wyddgrug DISCOUNTED | 91.9p | 92.9p |
The result is petrol at nine per cent saving on Rhuthun prices.
What are the implications for petrol retail businesses in Rhuthun? Small filling stations are already unable to compete against the likes of Tesco. Their wholesale purchase price is higher than Tesco’s retail. Rhuthun filling stations may offer perceived higher costs but we also need a network of garages selling petrol. As was so vividly demonstrated in Llangollen in October 2005, the last of Llangollen’s filling stations was due to close altogether. Tesco’s 5p off may only be an offer but it can affect the margins of smaller petrol retailers, even when the nearest Tesco filling station is 11 miles away at Yr Wyddgrug.
The petrol businesses in Rhuthun may have felt reasonably secure in the knowledge that there were to be no Tesco pumps in Rhuthun – can they feel so confident now? Or is the 5ppl discount likely to apply to those people already buying their fuel at Tesco in any case?
* A planning inspector overturned the decision, on appeal by Tesco