Since returning from holiday it has taken me about ten minutes longer to do my shopping due to the fact that I am having trouble finding my way around newly expanded Tesco.
I have to say that I rather liked the old, compact version. It was certainly friendly in the vegetable department on a busy morning! Now I wander around like a lost soul in purgatory, feeling rather gloomy that the store now does really feel like a clone of every other Tesco in the country.
I shop in Tesco on a day to day basis because it is the closest store to my home north of Sudbury and is undeniably good value. I always feel rather guilty about this however since I am aware of the adverse impact that Tesco has on the town centre and on village shops. This is doubly true now that the store has a pharmacy and much expanded non food areas. I am also very suspicious of the company’s pricing policy. One has to be very alert to the actual cost of things; larger packs for example are not always the cheaper option as one would expect. Additionally I am aware of the squeeze that Tesco puts on its suppliers. The company’s high level of profitability does not come from no-where.
The car park has been much expanded, and regrettably some quite mature trees have been removed during the alterations. One of the reasons that I am inclined to be opposed to parking charges in Sudbury* is that I don’t think that it is fair that people should have to pay in the town centre when supermarket car parks are free. It simply gives the large stores an unfair advantage which they really don’t need. In this connection I was impressed by the idea recently suggested by Sudbury Chamber of Commerce that the Section 106 money provided by Tesco for the town should be spent on subsidising car parks in the town. I am not sure if this is possible under the rules, but I shall certainly be asking the question.
*subject to hearing alternative views in a debate of course!
