The death of small businesses in London

Hello,
I don't know if anyone else living in London feels the same about this but I'm increasingly concerned about the way that small businesses are slowly being forced to close down in thriving, affluent communities.

In my area of North London I've noticed over the last few years several shops closing down when they really shouldn't have. The shops I'm talking about range from a local DIY shop to a grocery store selling a range of fresh and handmade foods. The reason these shops have dissappeared isn't that people in the area don't need or want what they are selling but rather that people in the area are too lazy or their lives are too hectic to have to think about buying what they need from several small local businesses. Instead, they all "nip-in" to the more convenient mini-supermarkets that are springing up near every busy tube station and buy everything they need.

These same people are quick to moan about how ugly their local high street is with all of the boarded up shops. The problem is that most of these young professionals will just move away to their 5 bed Surrey house to raise their families so it really doesn't matter to them.

This is a real problem for London and one that will only get worse with the spread of convenience supermarkets in a convenience driven society.

If anyone reading this feels the same please do what you can to buy from your local shops and don't keep lining the pockets of the supermarkets so they can continue destroying local businesses.

Jack

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Agreed.

My local grocery shop closed a few months back. They used to sell freshly made food, the olives were great. They also sold Oreos and superb fresh cake. I'm really annoyed that they had to close, the owners said the reason was that people in the area hadn't taken to them. Might be a coincidence but a certain mega-brand supermarket took over a small independent supermarket not far away only months before!

I make a point of not buying from the supermarket in question, they've helped destroy another unique London business. Still as long as they keep raking in the profits I don't suppose they'll really give a damn.

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I’m 100% in agreement here.

Although supermarkets do offer the convenience of a one-stop-shop it does really impact on the diversity of what’s available to the consumer.

It won’t be many years from now that we’ll only be able to buy the same few brands that are being sold in supermarkets as smaller brands and producers don’t have the financial-backing to face supermarkets head-on when it comes to marketing.

This is such a shame as there are a lot of businesses out there with superior quality products that are unfortunately sounding the death-knell as they’re being forced out of the marketplace.

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I read this discussion last week but after an experience today, I'm compelled to comment.

I'm in complete agreement with supporting the individualism of non-chain businesses, but thought that at least the big supermarkets offered the convenience of all the goods under one roof which made shopping so much quicker. That was until today.

I drove to a local green grocers to buy some fruit and veg. I was the only customer in the shop. I bought all that I needed, paid and left the shop all under 5 minutes. I then carried on my way to the local supermarket as there were other items that I needed for the week. I queued for about 10 minutes to get parked – I ended up having to park at least 100 meters away. I then battled with other shoppers to get the few other items that I needed. I then queued for ages to pay and finally leave. I only needed a few items from the supermarket but it took over 30 minutes.

Supermarkets are now the victims of their own popularity and success, they used to offer convenient, hassle-free shopping: they now offer an over-crowded, bad-tempered, time-consuming arena to buy sub-standard produce.

I think you can now visit your local green grocer, butcher, baker and grocer shops in less time than it takes to complete one trip to the supermarket. And the produce that you get at these individual shops will be of a higher quality!

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I think supermarkets are great.
You get loads of choice and the prices are cheap. AND it's all under one roof.
What's not to like?

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Thanks for your comments about this. I was hoping more people would pipe up here and give their thoughts, although I suppose this is part of the problem isn't it? people just don't care enough about the issue.

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Years ago my parents ran the local corner shop in the Midlands. We sold virtually everything people could want, apart from newspapers/magazines.
The problem is shopkeepers work long hours in order to make a living, plus they cannot buy in bulk at the cash & carry the way supermarkets can - hence they cannot compete on the price-scale. Often customers would even query the price - and I'm going back 20 years - compared to the supermarket. Then we'd show them the recommended retail price in The Grocer. It was their choice if they wanted to walk 45mins into town to use the supermarket. Things have got worse over the years of course, which is sad because not everyone has a car to drive to the supermarket, and its often a long haul on the bus with heavy shopping. Plus internet shopping can deliver to your door, so there's no supermarket trawl for those lucky enough to have a computer at home.
Please support your local shop, there's often a friendly smile & a warmer welcome than any supermarket. We don;t want them to close - we all get old, and can you imagine struggling to do your shopping without a car/computer access.
Thanks
Margaret Wale

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Small business enterprise is to be encouraged of course, but not at any cost. Our local convenience store has just shut, and Tesco Metro are moving in. Hurray! The "convinent store" was always dirty, badly stocked, over priced, had no disabled access and was continually selling alcohol to underage drinkers who then congregated outside the shop terrorising anyone that passed by.
Small business maybe essential to Britain's growth but it needs to abide by the same standards and rules that the larger conglomerates set.

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Working for a large supermarket, I am well aware of the competition for space and products. Little stores who use to sell stationery are now taken out by the large stores increasing there stock with electrical goods, stationery and clothing. I do think laws need to be put in place to protect this stores and larger stores taking over the market.

At the same time, I have not noticed any small stores in my area closing and I always use them but then I live in Tooting. If you love the small stores you will just have to move there.

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I work for a small business, though in financial services, not retail. I know this is digressing slightly but actually I think small businesses suffer for a lot of reasons, not just because of big business moving in and taking over. In the financial services industry the amount of new rules and regulations being brought in makes it very hard for small independent business to remain small and independent! The sheer volume of knowledge required to ensure you don't break the new rules means small businesses need to team up and stick together. By sharing resources we can ensure we don't go out of business.

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Hello there,

I can understand the point about some of the smaller convenience stores being dirty and overpriced. I used to live in Clapham and these kind of shops are everywhere.

It's not just these "food and wine" and general convenience stores who suffer when the big brands move into an area. It's all of the other specialist shops like butchers and fishmongers aswell. And it's ultimately the suppliers who suffer aswell as a result.

I think all shops should try and maintain the highest standards and I won't buy from filthy or dodgy shops. That said, I also never buy from supermarkets unless it's the only option. The last thing I want to see on my local high street is more ugly big brands.

Cheers,
Mogwai

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