Sale of the Marple CO-OP to ASDA

[Belly]

Of course ASDA will have done their research!

Indeed they will have done. They would have noted a captive market of 30,000 people served by just one local supermarket. The same reason why there was a bidding war on the Hibbert Lane site - even with the Co-op in situ.

ASDA quality is fine. No different from all the other brands. Just cheaper.

[Dave]

to the person who said I am a troll: please look it up. I didn't start with the insults and I really would have a field day with you if I was a troll.

So being an obedient sort, I duly looked it up, and the OED defines trolling as 'Making a deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them'.  In other words, trolls do this:

I just came back out of interest to see how much vitriol I had generated

QED, I think  

[simonesaffron]

A lot of (incorrect) assumptions in there but if it makes you feel better...

As you've strode forward with purpose to claim it and it obviously fits snugly - then wear it.

[MarpleRes]

You are of course right Dave, many will use it. We should have no loyalty to the Co-op we  have suffered their floundering  for too long now, with their empty shelves, erratic openings and closings and pricing policy based on the highest that the population of Marple will stand.

I live alone and my food bill is not a big expense. However that was not always the case and if I had a family to bring up now then I wouldn't do a big shop in the Co-op, I would go elsewhere and that is what people are doing, I have seen them.

Asda are not fools they will have done their research.

I buy most of my fresh produce from local business for no other reason than I wish to support them. Nevertheless, over the years I have purchased from every supermarket there is and apart from supermarket bread which is all tasteless and horrible (how do they all achieve this?) I have found little if any difference in quality from one to another. To me the assertion that Asda is low quality is nonsense and based upon some snooty myth as they are no different than anybody else. Perhaps somebody out there could enlighten me and let me know what the difference in quality is in; a tin of beans, a bar of soap, a newspaper, a box of teabags, a bottle of gin, some dishwasher tablets, an apple and a mushroom whether I buy them from Asda, Waitrose, Tesco, Morrisons, M&S or ALDI or anywhere else that springs to mind even the co-op, although the last time I went to the co-op for mushrooms they didn't have any..."for some reason we've had a rush on them today."

I do have one reservation about ASDA but it is not really to do with their identity. It is my understanding that they plan to expand to 25,000 - sf. Parking in Marple is currently stretched to capacity and I can only see the traffic situation becoming even worse than it already is.                 

Of course ASDA will have done their research! That is my point. And why I am concerned. As to the quality issue being a myth please do your research - just a few years ago ASDA's Chief Executive himself described the quality of food sold by all ASDA stores as "not good enough" and it has not improved since then by most accounts. In my opinion the Co-op is not much better but if you ask any impartial judge (and I don't mean surveys of shoppers in store who obviously like the shop which is why they are in there and able to take part in the survey in the first place) the Co-op IS better quality than ASDA which is why I fail to see any reason to celebrate its arrival. I would actually say that the Co-op selling out of mushrooms was an indicator of the quality of the mushrooms, ditto empty shelves, but before anybody starts in with the insults again that was a little joke to try to lighten things up... this is definitely my last post so just a few more points - to the person who said I am a troll: please look it up. I didn't start with the insults and I really would have a field day with you if I was a troll. Re; Memorial Park: yes, I exaggerated but immediately regretted it and took that comment back, but I didn't lie - I walked through this afternoon and nearly stood in 3 separate lumps of dog muck near the kids' play area. No Greggs' bags though, i'll give you that. And I'll agree its not a bad park, though nothing to shout about either. Finally, if you want the ASDA just remember it when your house prices don't go up as much as they should, because like it or not, justified or not, an ASDA in a town holds down prices whereas a Waitrose or an M&S causes them to rise. I have no idea why that is other than I guess no-one travels far to go to ASDA whereas people will travel from other towns to shop at Waitrose or M&S but maybe its because of the effect they have on other shops nearby. Personally I won't be going there and I will be using the local shops as I mostly always have done anyway. I just hope they are still there in a year or two because one thing about the Co-op, they were not too damaging to the town centre. ASDA low prices will provide a much tougher challenge for several long established Marple businesses and I fear for their survival if people fall for the old ASDA jingly pockets. By the way, don't expect to see Julie Walters in there anytime soon. This may be a shock announcement to some people but I've heard she doesn't actually shop in ASDA! Is she a snooty???

[MarpleRes]

There is a small (thankfully) and diminishing(also thankfully) group of people in Marple who still believe that Marple is an Edwardian, Cheshire village and not a suburban town of Greater Manchester. These people will seek to dictate on the quality of ASDA versus Waitrose etc, when we all know that there is quality in both. They will criticise the conduct of their neighbour and complain to anybody that will listen both officially and unofficially as long as it is behind their neighbour's back, what they won't actually do is go and speak to their neighbour's face about it.They will hold everybody responsible for the shortcomings in their lives (of which there will be many - they are only human after all) except themselves. They will blame council policies but they won't put up for the Council. They will lecture us on our grammar and our punctuation and they will leap upon misplaced apostrophes as if they are a symbol of class and status. They will look down on anybody that doesn't go to work in a suit or drops an 'aitch.'

That's why they are snooty. 

A lot of (incorrect) assumptions in there but if it makes you feel better...

[Duke Fame]

It has worked for years for both Asda and Sainsbury's in Stockport, and they are both alive and kicking!   

On the other hand.......  
...that would be suicide for Asda, just as it was for the Co-op recently when (for at least 12 months) there were no restrictions or charges in the Co-op car park. The result was that the Co-op lost a lot of business because people who weren't customers were leaving their cars there all day.   

In stocky, other car parks charge do it's not suicide. I can't believe anyone pays on Marple to park.

I don't think there is really a parking problem in the coop is there? I see cars desperately trying to get near the entrance but I have legs and can walk 20 metres

[amazon]

I too think Hubert Lane would have been a better option, and perhaps more people than we think were of the same opinion, but the Marple in Action group had more clout.

Like a mob marching down stockport road ..
 

[Harry]

I too think Hibbert Lane would have been a better option, and perhaps more people than we think were of the same opinion, but the Marple in Action group had more clout.

Unfortunately the silent majority stayed silent. And the vocal minority, led by a small group of shopkeepers, won the day.

Too late now.

[nipper14]

I agree Simone, it is the traffic/parking situation which has concerned me about any big supermarket development there.  At the risk of upsetting lots of the original protesters, I still think the original plan to site a new supermarket on Hibbert Lane was the best option out of a bad lot.

I too think Hibbert Lane would have been a better option, and perhaps more people than we think were of the same opinion, but the Marple in Action group had more clout.

[Barbara]

If free parking for 1.1/2 hours was imposed (and monitored!) that would solve the problem of the car park being full when there were events on elsewhere and shoppers being unable to park.  If you are not going into the main supermarket and expect to be longer than that, then there are other car parks available within a short walk.

[Dave]

If they want to commit commercial suicide, perhaps.

It has worked for years for both Asda and Sainsbury's in Stockport, and they are both alive and kicking!   

On the other hand.......

Far better for all car parking to be free within Marple and we have a level playing field.

...that would be suicide for Asda, just as it was for the Co-op recently when (for at least 12 months) there were no restrictions or charges in the Co-op car park. The result was that the Co-op lost a lot of business because people who weren't customers were leaving their cars there all day.   

[marpleexile]

If they want to commit commercial suicide, perhaps.

Far better for all car parking to be free within Marple and we have a level playing field. I'm not sure if anyone really pays to park but there is always that need to keep the shopping time to a minimum.

I don't know about that. When we were kids, Mum used to do her weekly shop at another supermarket, but whenever we had to go to Stockport for a shopping trip - new school uniforms, etc - she did her weekly shop at Asda that week, as they had the handiest car park for the precinct, and at the time you had to pay to park there but got a freebie if you spend £x in store.

It probably wouldn't sway those who were planning on shopping at the independents, but it probably would help drive business away from the likes of Superdrug and Iceland.

[Duke Fame]

Agreed, but I believe it can be quite costly, and I suspect getting planning consent could also be a problem.  But there is good scope for Asda to tighten up the car park arrangements - for example by charging a decent sum (a fiver?), which would be refunded if you spend at least that amount at the tills.  This would reduce the number of people who park there just to shop elsewhere. 

If they want to commit commercial suicide, perhaps.

Far better for all car parking to be free within Marple and we have a level playing field. I'm not sure if anyone really pays to park but there is always that need to keep the shopping time to a minimum.

[Dave]

It is my understanding that they plan to expand to 25,000 - sf.

What makes you think this Simone?

Simone can answer that question for herself, but it would not be surprising if it were true, simply because Asda (and the other three major chains) have a standard retail area for their supermarkets which is normally around that figure.  I think the current Co-op retail space is only around 17K sq.ft. 

Whether it can actually be achieved or not - both physically and in terms of getting planning consent - is another matter, of course.

[wheels]

Its just Wheels again, having his own little private joke. He just sets hares running for the fun of it.

I have to admit it though, I found the idea amusing.   

Doesn't it bring out the pomposity in some people Simone