The notion that Ruthin Décor might sell petrol at its new Well Street premises in an interesting one as mooted by a recent commenter. Of course, it ain't gonna happen for a number of reasons but it's a nice thought.Slater's had a petrol forecourt on the Well Street side of its premises. It was the last garage in Rhuthun/Ruthin to be attendant operated. I wonder what happened to them. There was a small wooden staff hut at the extreme eastern end, tucked into the corder. And, yes, there was a modest amount of congestion associated with the site, at times. A town centre location is not ideal for a garage.
Slater's closed its petrol forecourt in the early 1990s because there was more of a return in selling second hand cars than fuel. The poor return on fuel sales remains as true today as it was nearly 20 years ago. Small petrol stations struggle and often have to fork out more per litre wholesale than a supermarket sells retail. Little wonder Slater's pumps closed.
This is also the prime reason why we’ve seen the closure over the last 20 years of some of our rural petrol stations (e.g. Llanbedr, Pentre Llanrhaeadr, Clawddnewydd, Llanfair DC). They simply cannot compete.
In Rhuthun, we are fortunate to retain two petrol stations. Yes, their prices are invariably the same. But not always. Last night, there was a 1p per litre differential; and Bridge Services has recently advertised two days a week of cheaper petrol.
Those who regularly commute out of Rhuthun will inevitably buy their fuel elsewhere even though, in actual fact, the cost per tankful is only marginally cheaper. The principle of "use it or lose it" applies just as much to our petrol stations as it does anything else. If one closes, that might give the other carte blanche to price as it wishes. The interesting news is that in spite of some significant hikes in fuel prices, both petrol stations admit that they're selling broadly the same amount of fuel as they ever did. Recession and higher prices have little effect on our need to travel, or so it seems.