It’s a curious fact that Rhuthun has three supermarkets within 500 yards of each other—Tesco, Co-op and Somerfield.Tesco has a unique selling point in that it’s Britain’s most popular retailer. It’s also way bigger than the other of Rhuthun’s supermarkets, offering a greater range of convenience and comparison lines.
Co-op’s USP is fair trade. Of the three supermarkets in Rhuthun, it’s the one that trades most ethically. Co-op’s own brand products are believed to be the most ethically traded. We know of people who will deliberately only shop at Co-op Rhuthun because of this. Of all the supermarket brands in Britain, Ethical Consumer recommends only two as “Best Buys”—Marks & Spencer and Co-op, based on their performance on ethical policy issues and corporate responsibility. Not that Co-op’s score at 7.5/20 was particularly highly, though it was double Somerfield’s (4/20) and four times Tesco’s (2/20). (These data are two years old now, though).
Then there’s Somerfield. We’ve struggled in the past to come up with a USP for Somerfield but last week, we think we may have found one. As of a week ago, Somerfield Rhuthun now opens at 7 a.m., a full hour before its competitors. We’re not sure how much trade there is at this time in the morning but it does differentiate Somerfield from its neighbours. It adds to the perception that it’s always available, always there. Trouble is, it began shutting at 8 p.m. a year ago, rather than the 10 p.m. at the two other stores.
7.00 a.m. opening also demonstrates that Somerfield is fighting.
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Supermarkets