i heard on radio five live last nite that tesco is to open shops nation wide what sells no food .apparently they are going to sell clothing electrical goods d.v.d.s c.ds and the like at knock down prices i remeber they tried this sort of venture once before and failed {tesco home and leasure } is the time rite to to try it again steve ....:thumbsup:

Yeah I read about this in the Metro paper on the Tram, should be good if the prices are cheap enough :)

It can surely be a bad thing. Tesco already has too much of a monopoly over sales in the UK, and has been accused of using underhand tactics to force out the competition.

Already Tesco has been weilding its power by forcing certain magazines to change their covers. Surely this is a bad thing in a free country.

The prices may be cheap but they got that way by the suppliers being squeezed as much as possible by this hugely powerful company.

I think its a briliant idea- they are one shop that is commetted to bringing down the price of everyday items such as dvd players, walmart should have done the same with asda but they decided to keep there profit margins up instead of going for market share.

Tesco now accounts for over £1 in £8 spent on the high street- thats £55 per second they make- good for them i say!!!

Originally posted by Tali5Man
It can surely be a bad thing. Tesco already has too much of a monopoly over sales in the UK, and has been accused of using underhand tactics to force out the competition.

Already Tesco has been weilding its power by forcing certain magazines to change their covers. Surely this is a bad thing in a free country.

The prices may be cheap but they got that way by the suppliers being squeezed as much as possible by this hugely powerful company.

People say the same things about Wal-Mart, but some artists in America actually produce different versions of their albums specially for Wal-Mart to sell. People have the choice to shop at Tesco or not, if enough people choose to shop somewhere else they will get into trouble like Sainsburys are now.

I think it was bound to happen. There is a massive gap in the market for the Wal-Mart type super stores here. I heard a while ago that Target were going to start opening stores here as well, and that they already have in mainland Europe.

I don't think that we will see a monopoly from Tesco, as I'm sure others will soon follow. I know that Wal-Mart are the biggest retailer in America, but you also have the choice to go to Target, or K-Mart and similar places. The choice is there, but consumers will go where they get the best service and the best price.

Originally posted by nick2
People have the choice to shop at Tesco or not


they do at the moment. But as Tesco becomes more powerful, the choices will become less and less.

Originally posted by sham71
they do at the moment. But as Tesco becomes more powerful, the choices will become less and less.

They will never remove ASDA or Morrisons or perhaps Sainsburys or Waitrose though, a huge number of people (including me) just don't like Tesco's and would shop anywhere else first.

Yes, but a choice between Walmart, Tesco, Morrisons etc for everything (not just groceries) at the expense of independent shops is not choice in my opinion.

Just like a choice between McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King for take away food is no real choice.

I find it strange how price is everything when it comes to shopping yet people gladly p**s £50+ up the wall every weekend.

Its a funny world......

Originally posted by sham71
I find it strange how price is everything when it comes to shopping yet people gladly p**s £50+ up the wall every weekend.


You save money on the "essentials" so you can blow some money on the little luxuries, whatever they might be. I could spend £100 a week on groceries if I shopped at Waitrose but I'd rather spend £40 a week at ASDA and have £60 left over to go out at the weekend or to buy something I want rather than need.

Originally posted by sham71
Yes, but a choice between Walmart, Tesco, Morrisons etc for everything (not just groceries) at the expense of independent shops is not choice in my opinion.

Just like a choice between McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King for take away food is no real choice.

I find it strange how price is everything when it comes to shopping yet people gladly p**s £50+ up the wall every weekend.

Its a funny world......

But it IS choice... maybe not yours or mine, but the choice of the majority. You can't force people to shop at big stores, they just do. If people really wanted independent shops then there would be no fear of loosing them. Unfortunately, most people don't.

but in order to keep the choice I want, I have the right to oppose the unhindered growth of the large corporations.

I don't want to close down these big stores, so I am not trying to reduce the choice of the majority.

But for me, life doesn't begin and end with a DVD player for £20.

Originally posted by sham71
but in order to keep the choice I want, I have the right to oppose the unhindered growth of the large corporations.

I don't want to close down these big stores, so I am not trying to reduce the choice of the majority.

But for me, life doesn't begin and end with a DVD player for £20.

I know what you mean, I often feel the same way, but I think sometimes we have to just accept the fact that we can't always get what we want.

I think there is far too much hysteria about these big chains anyway, as they will not bring about an end to independent shops. People will always want more choice, so some will always survive. Many independent stores thrive in the US and we are about 30 years behind when it comes to control by major stores.

I think the saddest part about it all is that you see the same shops, bars, restaurants everywhere you go... we just have to live in clones of one place now.

There will always be small independant shops that will sell you the stuff that is not profitable for the big supermarkets to sell, look at the food shops on London road or the butchers on Woodseats, as long as people want to buy whole rabbits, sugar cane, chicken feet or dried sea cucumbers these shops have a future.

Originally posted by Snook
But it IS choice... maybe not yours or mine, but the choice of the majority. You can't force people to shop at big stores, they just do. If people really wanted independent shops then there would be no fear of loosing them. Unfortunately, most people don't.

People do want the traditional stores, but the Supermarket giants move into an area and work on zero margins knowing they will con the local cutomers long enough to put the independent local trader out of business then they immediately increase their prices, the minute he is out of the equation.

The other thing that is worth thinking about is that the local trader lives, eats, sleeps, and spends his money in other local stores so furthering the future prosperity of the area. Tesco's Asda and Co just suck money out of the local area, and apart from saying they create jobs (another lie) what do they offer apart from increased traffic and pollution from all the increase in lorries servicing their stores.... they offer nothing, it's all take take take.

I think its a good idea, so long as we, the consumer, get good products and value for money and a good after service on the things we buy then why are we complaining!?

They dont have a monopoly, its not like they sell everything thats unique and we have to buy it. A television is a television, there are millions of them and we can buy from anywhere, same with most other things they would sell.

They have been slowly working their way to doing this. A few years back they started opening stores which had a bigger non- food selling areas than food.

I think they may have a problem finding new in some cities though.

That said I can think of a few retailers who will not too pleased with this news.

I don't really have an opinion on this one..

I mean, I love independent and small businesses, but alot of people don't want the stuff they sell or can't afford to buy their normal groceries from them when they can get them cheaper at a supermarket.

apart from saying they create jobs (another lie)

How is that a lie? Most supermarkets provide hundreds of jobs and in every supermarket in the area I know at least one person who works there.

Originally posted by LBoogie
I don't really have an opinion on this one..




How is that a lie? Most supermarkets provide hundreds of jobs and in every supermarket in the area I know at least one person who works there.



The supermarkets don't create a single job, in fact they actually lose jobs from the local area.

Every job the supermarkets create is more than offset by the numbers of job losses in the stores run and owned by local people, and as anyone who has worked in a supermarket will tell you most of them are understaffed.


They perpetuate this lie to fool the local councillors into giving the planning permission to open another "much needed" store.

Much needed only by that particular company!

but face it, we aren't ever going to go back to the pre-supermarket days are we. Supermarkets do provide a lot of people employment.

I think its unfairto say that they dont provide jobs because they do, you cant argue with that! yes there may be jobs lost in smaller retailers but these jobs are replaced by those in the supermarket.

I agree with the point above that we are probably never going to go back to going to a different shop for each of our groceries, its just not the way modern people work. We all live busy lifestyles and the convenience and value (on some things!) of supermarkets is what we all want.

Originally posted by owdlad
People do want the traditional stores

People who have the time to potter around from shop to shop buying a couple of things in each shop probably do want traditional shops, but those of us have to work all day and only have the evening or Saturday to get the weeks shopping need supermarkets.

I don't want to spend all my day off shopping for food, I want to go after work at about 8pm in the week and get the full weeks shopping in one place, I have no alternative to supermarkets because everything else is closed at that time.

Traditional butchers etc, are nice, but not a realistic way for a modern families to get their weekly shopping.

I think the initial point of this thread was that they are moving into more and more non food products - clothes, electrical goods, loans, mortgages, phones etc etc.

If people weren't conned into buying so much sh*t they don't even need, they would have plenty of time.

There's a non-food tesco in Prague, bang next to a fabulous market with every type of food imaginable. Very strange to see a Tesco in the middle of the Czech Republic, they sold fags, mags, perfumes and pots & pans.

I think its unfairto say that they dont provide jobs because they do, you cant argue with that! yes there may be jobs lost in smaller retailers but these jobs are replaced by those in the supermarket

Unfair isn't a word the supermarkets understand! as for not being able to argue! which part of not creating jobs did you misunderstand?
They simply replace SOME existing jobs.

That is fact, not conjecture.

I suppose some people wouldn't be bothered if Tesco owned all the newsagents, chemists, petrol stations etc.

Perhaps if they bought SUFC and made them play in blue and white stripes to match their shopping bags, people might kick up a fuss.