So un-Rhuthun

With it’s brash orange & dark blue psychedelic signage, its battered former Marks & Spencer cast-off store shopping baskets, and sell-it-cheap mentality, arguably B & M Bargains is *so* un-Rhuthun. That’s certainly the case when you consider B & M alongside the Picture House Restaurant, now open. Yet in early trading B & M's doing *so* well. A member of its staff confided that in its first week the store took more than the former Somerfield in a month. The place fluctuates from being moderately to very busy. So far, it’s a success. But where is the expenditure being diverted *from*? Tesco, Co-op or town traders?

B & M’s strategy seems to be to buy products that either have not done well when they initially went to market or have short sell by dates. When each product has gone, it’s gone.

An example is Malteesers. On B & M’s shelves at the moment are round ‘boxes’ of Malteesers with the slogan ‘They’re round, the packet’s round, pass them round this Christmas’ or similar. That would explain the snowflakes adorning each packet. The sell by date is May 2008 so these particular boxes were destined for but failed to sell pre-Christmas 2007. Or is this an example of the manufacturer being influenced by climate change? Perhaps we can expect more products on sale in Spring with such symbols of winter.

Another is Flake Easter eggs. Given that these are ‘Exclusive at Woolworths’, it seems that Woolworth over-ordered. Another egg-sample is Celebration Easter eggs at £6.99, though the same product is on sale at Bridge Services (Texaco) at £6.49 and Tesco for the same price as at B & M. As well as Woolworth’s products, B & M is also alleged to stock Tesco’s slow sellers.