From Kwik Save to Tesco

Whilst doubtless local feelings are mixed (they always are), I think it’s exciting that Audley now has its own branch of Tesco. It’s not very big. But it’s there. Tesco Express Audley opened its doors at 8am this morning, and from now on will be open 7 days, 6am-11pm. Hurrah!

There are plenty of people out there who are Tesco Haters. I’m not one, personally, but this one would be hard to hate. Here’s the story. For years, Audley has had two convenience stores. Practically next door to each other on Church Street (yes, the main street in Audley is named after its church, not its height), was a Kwik Save and a Co-Op. The demise of Kwik Save was depressing to witness. Gradually there were more and more empty shelves. The end was in sight when the leading dairies all refused to supply Kwik Save stores around the country, because of fears over its credit status. Not long after that, administrators were called in to try and save the stores. They finally found a buyer for only some of the stores. Happily, Audley was one of them, which meant that at least our Kwik Save staff would be paid for their last month of work there.

Not much happened after the buyout. It wasn’t clear what the new owner’s plans were – certainly nothing opened fast. Then news spread that the store would re-open under Tesco’s convenience store brand, Tesco Express. Eventually various shop-fitting contractors started working, until finally, 1 February 2008, the store is open. Local jobs. One more food and supplies store in Audley. The Kwik Save tragedy had a happy ending after all – at least, for us in Audley.

Those who like to bash Tesco tend to charge it with one of two purported crimes.

The first is anti-competitiveness. They say that the arrival of Tesco diminishes competition. That certainly isn’t true here. Without Tesco taking over the old Kwik Save store, via the intermediate buyer, there would only be one food and convenience store in Audley – the Co Op. We now have two. We are now back in the position where there is competition for the opening hours, the range of produce, the prices on offer, the freshness of the green veg available, the use-by dates on the milk and so on. That has to be good all round.

With one store there is no extortion – they provide a convenience shop in a village that would otherwise have none. The prices and produce they offer will be such that we would rather part with that amount of money for that product than travel elsewhere. With two stores there is a bigger, more open marketplace. Audley and its surrounding area is big enough for two convenience stores, and customers and shops will alike benefit as the price and value line up even more closely.

The second is that they force smaller businesses out of business. No-one can accuse Tesco of this in Audley. One of the sad sights in Audley is the nunber of boarded-up shops. As a family business doesn’t get handed on to the next generation, as a traditional shop struggles to attract enough custom, as the pharmacy moves into the compound of the new health centre, it closes down. And no-one is found to take over the lease in a hurry. So the shop is boarded up until a new tenant can be found or somoene successfully applies for change of use from the council.

That is sad, and it makes Church Street look a shadow of what it could be. But if another shop closes, and doesn’t find a new tenant, you’d be very hard pressed to prove that this happened because of Tesco’s arrival in the village. Given that shop closures seem to happen in Audley at the moment, who’s to say it wouldn’t have happened anyway. And that’s if it happens – which, of course it hasn’t yet.

So, here, Tesco doesn’t mean less competition – it means more. It doesn’t force businesses to shut – that, sadly, happens even without Tesco. What it does mean is a greater choice of shopping facility for local residents. What it does mean is jobs to (possibly more than) replace those lost when Kwik Save shut. What it does mean is that the shop which was the largest boarded-up shop-front in Audley is open again now. What it does mean is significant outside investment in the village. All of which has to be for the best.