John Lewis......should be allowed :)

GlynD

waltsalt wrote: »

Right, to take a back step away from this debate can we all at least agree on one thing?

John Lewis make good TV adverts.

Nah - I think their adverts are poopoo

motorguy

heres the long and the short of it - Neither John Lewis nor the 19 other stores that would be opened are going to be cheaper than what could be bought online, therefore the huge amount of revenue that these shops will need will simply come from elsewhere in the province as its not going to cause people to spend money they werent otherwise going to.

Therefore, ultimately whilst it might generate 1500 new jobs now, chances are the bulk of those will be lost elsewhere in the province.

happy_gardener

Yes, I thought that most of their ads were good

happy_gardener

There we have on the news tonight about all the money going to be spent on 'tarting' up the run down properties in towns. I think it was about £400,000 they are spending.

Why don't they reduce the business rates...let more shops open...drawing in business.
Seems they like to panic manage things...instead of seeing the bigger picture. What is the matter with the people with the money strings!

There is John Lewis being turned away. What message are we giving out? Those in the rest of UK just see the turning away of business as madness. In todays climate no business should be turned away, things should be to encourage businesses to open....even pop-up shops would be better that run down properties.....

Rant over.....

Artofdookie

Truth is i used to go to Ballymena a couple of times a week, for the past 2 years all my shopping is delivered from Tesco/Asda/Sainsburys, presents, cards etc are all ordered online. I havent been in a town shopping for months now. I needed and new Padbolt for the shed, days gone by id have got it in the local hardware shop, ordered it yesterday for a fraction of the price and had it delivered to my door today, they will all die eventually.

motorguy

Artofdookie wrote: »

Truth is i used to go to Ballymena a couple of times a week, for the past 2 years all my shopping is delivered from Tesco/Asda/Sainsburys, presents, cards etc are all ordered online. I havent been in a town shopping for months now. I needed and new Padbolt for the shed, days gone by id have got it in the local hardware shop, ordered it yesterday for a fraction of the price and had it delivered to my door today, they will all die eventually.

And economically do you see your money going directly to international corporations instead of remaining in our economy as a good thing?

waltsalt

motorguy wrote: »

And economically do you see your money going directly to international corporations instead of remaining in our economy as a good thing?

Two main points:

A) Our town centres are full of multinationals already so saving our town centres isn't going to change where your money goes.

Do you really think Joe Public can really afford to pay higher prices just to prop up the local businesses? You are prophesying doom for our wee country but we'll be fine. We are a hardy bunch and we'll just keep on keeping on. Sure we'll not need to work when we all have stockpiles of money saved up from our frugal purchasing online.

Damn it! Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in again.

motorguy

waltsalt wrote: »

Two main points:

A) Our town centres are full of multinationals already so saving our town centres isn't going to change where your money goes.

Do you really think Joe Public can really afford to pay higher prices just to prop up the local businesses? You are prophesying doom for our wee country but we'll be fine. We are a hardy bunch and we'll just keep on keeping on. Sure we'll not need to work when we all have stockpiles of money saved up from our frugal purchasing online.

Damn it! Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in again.

(a) yes they are to an extent, however the big players like ASDA, Tesco, Sainsburys and JL simply overrun the opposition whilst not necessarily offering any better VFM - a lot of it is perception.

(b) No one is saying prop up local businesses however as i've said very often local businesses CAN compete on price and definitely on customer service, but get written out of the equation because people 'assume' the big players are cheaper - usually through big TV and newspaper advertising campaigns for very specific items. Starbucks is another example - how many local small coffee shops have we had in our towns that DO make the effort and DO provide a quality service, only to be muscled out by the weight of Starbucks, who as it turns out dont pay any tax??

Just heard an advert on Cool FM this morning for Sainsbury's offering heating oil and boilers now. Is there REALLY any need for them as a supermarket to be in that market too? How many small local suppliers will go under once Sainsburys and Tesco etc get a grip on that market too?

But hey, sure we can stick our heads in the sand and hopefully it will be ok.

saverbuyer

I agree with Paul 100% here. Terry Leahy thinks that small shop closures are "progress". Big stores making sales here and exporting the profit to circumvent local tax isn't "progress". It's a race to the bottom. It's an unfair competitive advantage.

You can get fantastic customer service with our local retailers, you can also get them to price match. If you want to shop online and help amazon avoid tax then be my guest. If you want a dodgy sales guarantee then fire away.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/03/small-shop-closures-ex-tesco-boss

almillar

Just a wee thought about what a JL store (and the other smaller stores) would do to kill town centres - in the 9 years that the planning application was being considered, how many out of town supermarkets and shopping centres were granted permission?!
Who told Attwood that people are only allowed to shop in Belfast? What's wrong with a department store at Sprucefield? I can't get parked in Belfast, and I don't think you will find too many people carrying 50" TVs on the train or bus!
Interesting to note also that whilst the Lisburn traders were squealing about the stores coming to Sprucefield, they allowed street parking charges to be introduced in the town, sorry, city, centre. Maybe they could remove them again to encourage people back in?!