Asda Revisited

[marpleexile]

A different retail environment to food but my wife's retail shop enjoys the best sales from 4pm to 7pm, she opens at 10.30am.

The issue for opening 7a.m to 10pm for the green grocers etc is being able to run it. I'm guessing they are buying stock pretty early and can;t get to open for 7 a.m. and then after a 4 a.m. start, a 10pm finish is going to be pretty tiring without a lunch break. IF the additional income does not provide enough to cover employing an extra hand, especially as NMW is going up, it's a non starter.

Extending opening hours isn't going to be practical for most businesses, but long term I do think that we will see opening times change to, say, 11am to 7pm, or 12 to 8pm, if not everyday, then at least two or three days a week.

Remembering back to my childhood, didn't Wednesdays used to be "half day closing" in Marple. A good initiative to start with from the Marple Chamber of Commerce (I know, but I can't remember what they are actually called) would be to dedicate one day a week as late opening.

[Duke Fame]

It needs most (if not all) of the shops to open normal hours, e.g. 7am to at least 10pm, as just one shop doing so would not help for real life shopping.

A different retail environment to food but my wife's retail shop enjoys the best sales from 4pm to 7pm, she opens at 10.30am.

The issue for opening 7a.m to 10pm for the green grocers etc is being able to run it. I'm guessing they are buying stock pretty early and can;t get to open for 7 a.m. and then after a 4 a.m. start, a 10pm finish is going to be pretty tiring without a lunch break. IF the additional income does not provide enough to cover employing an extra hand, especially as NMW is going up, it's a non starter.

[simonesaffron]

I love the new asda. So much cheaper and more convenient.  It is great being able to get things like kids socks at good prices too. It isn't perfect but it's so much better than the coop.

I don't buy things like kids socks any more so I didn't think of that but it's a point well made JMC.

[Dave]

For what it's worth, the debate about whether the Marple Asda is or is not a 'large supermarket' can be settled by reference to the sizes that the supermarket business itself uses.  To them, a large supermarket is one which is over 25,000 sq ft.  The Marple Asda is 17,000 sq ft.

As anyone who reads the business pages knows, Asda and the other 'big four' supermarket chains are having a hard time at the moment, squeezed between the cheap discounters (Aldi, Lidl) and the upmarket food stores (M&S, Waitrose), plus the effect of their own online sales.  Apparently we don't do huge trolley-loads of shopping once a week as much as we used to, so the biggest supermarkets are half empty!

So it makes perfect sense that Asda should have told admin they were relieved not to have moved on to the Hibbert Lane site. 

As for the Marple Asda, I use it. but just for a few items, and I get out as quickly as I can!  To be honest, it makes me think the Co-op wasn't so bad after all, though I agree it was expensive.

[JMC]

I love the new asda. So much cheaper and more convenient.  It is great being able to get things like kids socks at good prices too. It isn't perfect but it's so much better than the coop.

[simonesaffron]

There is not much that can be said on this subject that is new and what follows is an example of this.

It is a good thing that Marple offers a large supermarket and local shops so that shoppers can make their own choice.

For many years the co-op let the people of Marple down with its inflated prices, poor variety and often empty shelves. Asda, although not the best shopping experience seems to have resolved these issues.

I do believe though that they need to look at their car park. There are too many cars  in it and no supervision. On two occasions I have witnessed an almost accident with a reversing car and a pedestrian. 

[admin]

I've broken out the posts relating to a Supermarket into a separate thread as it is diverging from the original topic "A Neighbourhood Plan for Marple". But of course everyone is welcome to carry on discussing it.

As I'm sure visitors to the site know, I objected to a supermarket on Hibbert Lane because (like Marple Civic Society) I believed it would destroy the existing shopping centre. I didn't object because it was Asda and I would have objected regardless of the brand.

I didn't object to Asda taking over the Co-Op because I didn't think that would have the same impact and with my Friends of the Park hat on I've developed a very good relationship with representatives of the new store. When I met with them for the first time last spring for a walk around the park we discussed the failed plans to build on Hibbert Lane. Asda themselves appeared relieved that this didn't go ahead because, they said, the way that people shop has changed radically and large stores like the one proposed are no longer considered a good investment. I think this is the real reason that they threw in the towel and chose not to go ahead, not the local objections to it, although those did delay things long enough for this picture to emerge.

[amazon]

There are many things which I do not use supermarkets for if at all possible. The most obvious being meat, bread and vegetables. There are others. All these things I buy from the local shops when I can. This is mostly weekends, although I can get bread from Claudio's on occasion during the week if I get back from work early enough. The supermarkets are vastly inferior to the small shops for so many things.

you say on occasion from Claudios yet you would like him to open 7 till ten ..if he opened them hours dont see him being around vey long .

[marpleexile]

Asda are open from 7am till ten .every day but sunday .tell me what you would buy if the shops were open the times you would like .

Erm, the things that they sell.

We only shop at supermarkets because the small shops are closed by the time we get back to Marple, and so if we've got to shop at a supermarket, it might as well be Sainsbury's in HG or the Portwood Tesco as they have a bigger range than the Marple Asda.

[Condate]

Asda are open from 7am till ten .every day but sunday .tell me what you would buy if the shops were open the times you would like .

There are many things which I do not use supermarkets for if at all possible. The most obvious being meat, bread and vegetables. There are others. All these things I buy from the local shops when I can. This is mostly weekends, although I can get bread from Claudio's on occasion during the week if I get back from work early enough. The supermarkets are vastly inferior to the small shops for so many things.

[amazon]

It needs most (if not all) of the shops to open normal hours, e.g. 7am to at least 10pm, as just one shop doing so would not help for real life shopping.

Asda are open from 7am till ten .every day but sunday .tell me what you would buy if the shops were open the times you would like .

[ringi]

It needs most (if not all) of the shops to open normal hours, e.g. 7am to at least 10pm, as just one shop doing so would not help for real life shopping.

[marpleexile]

Like what time  .do you want .

It's a discussion that's been had on here before.

The majority of Marple's small shops still operate on an 8am - 5pm (ish) opening schedule, which whilst fine for the sizeable number of Marple's retired residents, means that those of us who do work simply cannot shop there, even if we wanted to. I have to leave for work by 7am at the latest (see other threads for discussions on lack of public transport alternatives and the traffic congestion issues), and don't finish work until 5pm, so don't get back to Marple till gone 6pm. And as we don't live in the 1950s anymore, my partner also works, on a similar schedule, so she can't use the Marple shops either.

As a result, we don't shop in Marple, barring the odd pint of milk or loaf of bread. My parents who have lived in Marple for nearly 40 years are the same - when they worked they couldn't shop in Marple (because of the opening times), and are now so used to not shopping in Marple that even though they are retired and now could, they don't, as they are so used to dropping into a supermarket on their way back to Marple.

Short term this isn't an issue for the Marple shop keepers, but long term, as their customers literally die off, they may have problems.

[amazon]

What good are shops to "normal" people if they don't open at the times when people expect to do their shopping.  And who has the time to visit many small shops to do their weakly shop.

Like what time  .do you want .

[ringi]

What good are shops to "normal" people if they don't open at the times when people expect to do their shopping.  And who has the time to visit many small shops to do their weakly shop.