We'll quit town if Tesco store is given go-ahead (From Daily Echo)
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Department store chiefs threaten to pull out of Romsey if new Tesco approved
12:00pm Monday 29th October 2012 in News By Andrew Ross
Bradbeers boss Greg Davies.
BOSSES at a famous department store have threatened to quit a Hampshire town if a new Tesco opens.
Retailer Bradbeers fears trade would be hit in Romsey.
And the store says it will abandon its own multi-million pound expansion plan which would have created 30 jobs if the supermarket gets the go ahead.
Managing director Greg Davies said: “The long-term effects for Bradbeers, particularly if Tesco expand in later years, will put the store’s future in doubt.”
Last year Bradbeers moved its furniture department to Hedge End retail park and Mr Davies says that the rest of the shop may follow suit.
In a letter of objection to Test Valley Borough Council planners, Mr Davies says: “As a company we have to take the correct actions ... and if trade deteriorates enough over many years we would seriously consider moving the entire department store to Hedge End to be alongside our furniture store.”
He also claims that the arrival of Tesco at Fairground Field, part of the Broadlands estate, could deter Bradbeers and other businesses from investing in the town and prevent others from starting up.
Accompanying the letter to the council is an image of a proposed redevelopment of the former Stares butcher shop in the Cornmarket adjoining Bradbeers.
Previously Bradbeers, which employs 95 staff at Romsey, had submitted a planning application for a one-storey extension of the shop but work on the refurbishment of the former Stares premises is currently on hold.
Bradbeers is now considering a bigger plan which would add 13,000 sq ft to their existing shop.
This would involve the demolition of the old butchers and the Oxfam bookshop (also owned by Bradbeers) and its replacement with a split level extension – two storeys facing onto the Cornmarket, rising to three storeys.
“This significant proposed investment in the town centre will create 30 permanent jobs and have a construction budget of several million pounds. I can predict confidently that a development on this scale will not take place if the competing outof- town Tesco is allowed to proceed,” states Mr Davies.
Mr Davies told the Daily Echo: “We want to lay our cards on the table for the council. So all the councillors who vote on this know the full impact of what they are deciding upon.”
He said it was his “gut feeling” that although Bradbeers and Tesco were not direct competitors the new superstore’s nonfood lines would affect trade in Romsey and reduce footfall to the town centre.
Comments(27)
housewife
says...
12:15pm Mon 29 Oct 12
.
Romsey needs a Tesco, or some sort of supermarket - up near Whitenap and Abbotswood - where the houses are ....
.
And anybody who thinks that Tesco would be cheaper than other Romsey food outlets does not understand retail pricing strategies
ohec
says...
12:23pm Mon 29 Oct 12
shilo
says...
12:24pm Mon 29 Oct 12
News Fanatic
says...
12:27pm Mon 29 Oct 12
Shoong
says...
12:31pm Mon 29 Oct 12
murfmeister
says...
12:31pm Mon 29 Oct 12
This is just a bit of cheap PR for them
If tescos isnt wanted in Romsey then nobody will shop there will they?
I'm sure Greg Davies' weekly shop at M&S will be unaffected until he needs something urgently and is snapped coming out of Tescos in Romsey! I'd love to see that pic
Rhombus
says...
12:58pm Mon 29 Oct 12
NobodyImportant
says...
1:04pm Mon 29 Oct 12
Paramjit Bahia
says...
1:14pm Mon 29 Oct 12
Strangely when it suits them most of the bosses lover merits of competition, especially when it comes to negotiating wages with workers representatives i.e. ‘there are plenty more without jobs so we can exploit them on the cheap’ becomes their threat. Why do they shy away from competition when some others could give them the dose of their own medicine?
The planning authority should tell this guy Greg to get on his bike, the same thingy that certain Tab bit told to get on to workers and decide on Tesco’s application as required by law.
housewife
says...
2:15pm Mon 29 Oct 12
that Lady Romsey gets a wodge of cash, but all of the people living in the new houses at Abbotswood still have no decent shop up near them ....
Brusher Mills
says...
3:23pm Mon 29 Oct 12
It's like Bradbeers are the Tories and Tesco's represents Labour and everyone on here bar a few seem to hate Tories.
Nicole23
says...
3:38pm Mon 29 Oct 12
solomum
says...
3:52pm Mon 29 Oct 12
sotonboy84
says...
4:24pm Mon 29 Oct 12
We should be preserving what we have and supporting local businesses. Many high streets up and down the country are dead and shut up but Romsey's is thriving. There are some chain shops but a lot of small independent businesses. If Tesco was to open then many of these smaller businesses would eventually be forced to close as they just could not compete with Tesco.
Romsey doesn't 'need' a Tesco at all. There is a Waitrose and an Aldi which is more than enough for the town. Romsey is a small market town and that's the way it should stay. For those that choose not to shop at Waitrose or Aldi, get in your car or on a bus and travel to one of the city's nearby and do your shopping. For those people in the 'new houses' or have recently moved to the area and consider having a supermarket on your doorstep is so important then I don't think Romsey was the best place for you to move to!
andysaints007
says...
8:24pm Mon 29 Oct 12
andysaints007
says...
8:24pm Mon 29 Oct 12
ameliaS
says...
8:51pm Mon 29 Oct 12
Here, There
says...
10:14pm Mon 29 Oct 12
elvisimo
says...
9:29am Tue 30 Oct 12
It is a small Tesco - 35,000 sq.ft. so 20,000 sq.ft. sales. Their homeware section will be virtually non existant.
Doesnt sound like he is particularly confident in his business proposition.
Harrysdog
says...
9:44am Tue 30 Oct 12
Walter K
says...
10:00am Tue 30 Oct 12
elvisimo
says...
10:14am Tue 30 Oct 12
Walter K wrote:think more likely you will see a 99p stores, poundland, wilkos, Home Bargain, B&M etc with a JD Wetherspoon in the remaining space - big space retail is hard to find in Romsey.
More Town Centre homes along Bell Street when they go then = more customers for Tesco.
That said if the freehold is owned by Bradbeers then they will be quids in.
sarfhamton
says...
3:35pm Tue 30 Oct 12
ottred
says...
4:58pm Tue 30 Oct 12
anderoo
says...
7:21pm Tue 30 Oct 12
ameliaS wrote:Ok if you are prepared to pay a lot more for a product compared to other high st retailers. For example, my elderly mother wanted to buy a 'Cottage style' armchair....Bradbeer
Bradbeers is central to my shopping trips to Romsey. Not just the same old brands that make up so many of our look-a-like high streets. Bradbeers set Romsey aside from the rest of what's on offer in the region. Without Bradbeers, I would not wish to shop in Romsey as frequently. As for Tesco - I've only been a couple of times and prefer other supermarkets. Romsey has plenty to offer as it is. If people really can't live without Tesco, there are already enough Tesco stores within striking distance.
s wanted nearly £700 for one.....a lot cheaper from other furniture retailers.
They have helped destroy Romsey themselves too. They took over the old 'Dolphin Hotel' and also recently taken over the butchers shop next door....so much for wanting local business in the town. Lets see if they are good to their word if Tesco get permission to open a store in Romsey. I for sure wont miss them if they pull out of the town. In nearly 50 years of living in the town, i can honestly say that the only thing i have bought from there was a cup of coffee and a toasted teacake from their restaurant.
anderoo
says...
7:29pm Tue 30 Oct 12
anderoo wrote:Just one other thing, i dont really care which major supermarket comes into Romsey, long as it shows how more expensive Waitrose is than the rest of them.
ameliaS wrote:Ok if you are prepared to pay a lot more for a product compared to other high st retailers. For example, my elderly mother wanted to buy a 'Cottage style' armchair....Bradbeer
Bradbeers is central to my shopping trips to Romsey. Not just the same old brands that make up so many of our look-a-like high streets. Bradbeers set Romsey aside from the rest of what's on offer in the region. Without Bradbeers, I would not wish to shop in Romsey as frequently. As for Tesco - I've only been a couple of times and prefer other supermarkets. Romsey has plenty to offer as it is. If people really can't live without Tesco, there are already enough Tesco stores within striking distance.
s wanted nearly £700 for one.....a lot cheaper from other furniture retailers.
They have helped destroy Romsey themselves too. They took over the old 'Dolphin Hotel' and also recently taken over the butchers shop next door....so much for wanting local business in the town. Lets see if they are good to their word if Tesco get permission to open a store in Romsey. I for sure wont miss them if they pull out of the town. In nearly 50 years of living in the town, i can honestly say that the only thing i have bought from there was a cup of coffee and a toasted teacake from their restaurant.
I bet the NIMBY brigade, who are probably mostly people who werent born in the town, and havent lived there very long, would not be moaning if it was Marks & Spencer who asked for the planning consent.
And to one other poster, i understand that 'Lady Romsey' no longer lives at Broadlands.....she lives abroad somewhere. And the money from the sale of the land will be used to help pay the cost of the restoration of Broadlands house.....a big part of Romsey's history
aldermoorboy says...
12:07pm Mon 29 Oct 12
Companies like Bradbeers should go onto the internet that is their future.