Tesco dancing on Asda's grave at the Mart in Thurso?

[jaykay]

I tend to agree with the viewpoint expressed by Mr Bert Macleod

"Mr MacLeod told fellow members: "I'll believe it when I see the machines in action building the new store. I don't believe anything they say."

Tesco may well start tidying up the site this month to keep the Council off their backs but whether or not they ever build a store on it remains to be seen. My own thoughts are that Tesco will "play for time" using all sorts of ploys. Why would they go to the bother of buiding a new store that is not a lot bigger than the one they already have in Thurso?
Like Mr Macleod I will beleive it when I actually see the new store being built.

[crayola]

Like Mr Macleod I will beleive it when I actually see the new store being built.

Likewise but there's a recession on so they have a good excuse for a delay and a long recession could be spun out into a longer excuse. And long excuses can spin out into permanent ones.

Anyways they must have a huge fraction of the Caithness supermarket market already and with no competition on the big supermarket front they can afford to wait before they pick up the rest.

[cazmanian_minx]

Tesco's now asking for a judicial review of the Tain ASDA:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...s/10375986.stm

[crayola]

This has been dragging on for years. The Tain ASDA was approved by Highland Council on Wednesday 14 March 2007!

Tain ASDA Supermarket Planning Application (14/03/07)

Following a hearings procedure held today (Wednesday 14 March 2007), members of The Highland Council’s Planning and Development Committee have approved an application by ASDA to build a supermarket with petrol station on a 6.5 hectare site in Tain. The consent is to be made subject to a number of planning conditions to be drawn up by the Director of Planning and Development.

The site for the proposed new store is on the south side of the town and is currently used as agricultural land which is highlighted in the recently adopted Easter Ross Local Plan as land for future housing expansion and amenity area.

The application will now be referred to the Scottish Executive as the proposed car parking exceeds the national maximum car parking standards laid down by the Executive.

The recommendation presented to the Committee by Planning Officials was to refuse the application however at the end of the hearings procedure Councillor Richard Durham seconded by Councillor Alan Torrance moved a motion for approval.

The motion was approved 20 votes to 8.

Whatever the relation between Highland Council and Tesco, and even if ASDA as I suspect have been incompetent, the outcome has been ridiculous. No wonder there are accusations of corruption.

[jaykay]

"WORK on a long-awaited new Tesco store in Thurso will begin next month, and the supermarket giant has confirmed a scheduled opening date of spring next year


"Clearance of the old mart site on Ormlie Road will begin within weeks, with construction of the 25,000-square-foot store starting in August, according to Tesco's corporate affairs manager, Douglas Wilson".

The above statements were made in May. I notice there is still no sign of anything happening at the mart site so obviously the work that was meant to start in June did not happen.
Could Douglas Wilson Tesco's corporate affairs manager be telling lies? Surely never!

[Sara Jevo]

How much of the Caithness economy relies on public funding?

It's probably higher than most other parts of Scotland, which itself is above average for the UK.

Vulcan, Dounreay, council, NHS, college, schools . . .add in the private contractors who do work for the public sector . . .

The recession is about to sweep the public sector with a vengeance - and with it the revenue forecasts that people like Tesco will have based their investment decisions on.

[glaikit]

Agree with Sarajevo. Watch Tesco pack their hankie on a stick when the money runs dry and head out of Caithness. They have a history of it and are a completely unscrupulous company, who don't give a jot for local communities, or their employees. They'll close down all the competition, including petrol stations and leave us with nowt. In fact I'm amazed there are still petrol stations left in Wick.

[bekisman]

Agree with Sarajevo. Watch Tesco pack their hankie on a stick when the money runs dry and head out of Caithness. They have a history of it and are a completely unscrupulous company, who don't give a jot for local communities, or their employees. They'll close down all the competition, including petrol stations and leave us with nowt. In fact I'm amazed there are still petrol stations left in Wick.

What a load of tosh!
"They have a history of it" - go on then give details.
"They'll close down all the competition, including petrol stations and leave us with nowt. In fact I'm amazed there are still petrol stations left in Wick." - go on then list all of the towns/cities in UK where this has happened.

Face facts; Tesco (for all it's faults) has been instrumental in bringing down the cost of fuel in Wick, And when Tesco, Thurso, comes on line the fuel there will be reasonable too. Were YOU here in 2004? "In February 2004, the average price of unleaded petrol was 76.88p per litre. The cheapest was to be found in Thanet, Kent, at an average price of 70.80p, while the most expensive was Thurso in Caithness at an average price of 85.90p." And in 2005 "all the garages [Thurso] charged the same price which was 12p per litre above Inverness prices".

[Sara Jevo]

Bekisman . . . Tesco are one of the most ruthless corporations on the planet today, a company whose business is designed to drive down the costs of its supply chain irrespective of the environmental or social consequences in order to maximise its profits.

The trail of destruction left by Tesco can be seen in towns across Britain where local supply chains and traders have been eroded and destroyed by the enormous buying power that comes with being a global corporation.

It creates an illusion in the short-term of being good for the customer - but the whole community suffers in the long-term as Tesco begins to monopolise and feels secure enough to raise its prices.

[ducati]

Bekisman . . . Tesco are one of the most ruthless corporations on the planet today, a company whose business is designed to drive down the costs of its supply chain irrespective of the environmental or social consequences in order to maximise its profits.

The trail of destruction left by Tesco can be seen in towns across Britain where local supply chains and traders have been eroded and destroyed by the enormous buying power that comes with being a global corporation.

It creates an illusion in the short-term of being good for the customer - but the whole community suffers in the long-term as Tesco begins to monopolise and feels secure enough to raise its prices.

Where is the evidence for the raising of prices? Tesco need to keep cheap because that is what their customers want. Hence the £1.00 chicken etc.

If there was no demand they would change their business model.

There is no more competetive business than grocery-that is a fact.

[glaikit]

Thank you Sara Jevo It's too hot to argue the toss today and I've not got the stomach for it. You put it very well.

[bekisman]

Bekisman . . . Tesco are one of the most ruthless corporations on the planet today, a company whose business is designed to drive down the costs of its supply chain irrespective of the environmental or social consequences in order to maximise its profits.

The trail of destruction left by Tesco can be seen in towns across Britain where local supply chains and traders have been eroded and destroyed by the enormous buying power that comes with being a global corporation.

It creates an illusion in the short-term of being good for the customer - but the whole community suffers in the long-term as Tesco begins to monopolise and feels secure enough to raise its prices.

1. 'Tesco are one of the most ruthless corporations on the planet today' (thought ASDA/Wallmart were?)
2. 'a company whose business is designed to drive down the costs of its supply chain irrespective of the environmental or social consequences in order to maximise its profits'. (is there a major supermarket who doesn't?)
3 'The trail of destruction left by Tesco can be seen in towns across Britain where local supply chains and traders have been eroded and destroyed by the enormous buying power that comes with being a global corporation.' ASDA. Sainsbury's Morrisons?
4. 'It creates an illusion in the short-term of being good for the customer' (how long is short term?)
5. 'but the whole community suffers in the long-term as Tesco begins to monopolise and feels secure enough to raise its prices.' (name these places)
Presume you have never, will never, use any facilities of Tesco's?

[glaikit]

Coop. Coop treat their suppliers in an ethical fashion, do not invest in any dodgy investments and try to use local suppliers when they can.
They're not the cheapest by any means but they ain't grinding farmers et al into the ground either.

[Tugmistress]

on a slightly diferent note i have had this emailed from a friend that is not registered on the org, i must admit i would be worried too if the do build ........ copied and pasted below

If I was a parent sending my kid to Miller or the High School even Pennyland I would be really worried.
How can this information (there are 100s more articles) be out there and planning permission not take account of this data? If Tesco is built I would say the traffic on these roads would probably double.

Tesco if built will affect kids for years to come... just madness even at present actually as that road is so busy and all the kids walking past. If my kids were younger I would not let them go near the place. This has made me really mad.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0603-08.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/me...tes/336738.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/369169.stm

[Puzzled]

[QUOTE= Hence the £1.00 chicken .[/QUOTE]

Never found one of them!

[Sara Jevo]

1. 'Tesco are one of the most ruthless corporations on the planet today' (thought ASDA/Wallmart were?)
2. 'a company whose business is designed to drive down the costs of its supply chain irrespective of the environmental or social consequences in order to maximise its profits'. (is there a major supermarket who doesn't?)
3 'The trail of destruction left by Tesco can be seen in towns across Britain where local supply chains and traders have been eroded and destroyed by the enormous buying power that comes with being a global corporation.' ASDA. Sainsbury's Morrisons?
4. 'It creates an illusion in the short-term of being good for the customer' (how long is short term?)
5. 'but the whole community suffers in the long-term as Tesco begins to monopolise and feels secure enough to raise its prices.' (name these places)
Presume you have never, will never, use any facilities of Tesco's?

1. This thread happens to be about Tesco. Tesco and 3 or 4 other global supermarket corporations now control about two-thirds of the world's food supply.

2. Yes, there are lots, the Co-operative for example. It is an ethical business and is not driven by a need to satisify rapacious City investors. The problem with chains the size of Tesco, however, is that they become so large other chains find it harder to compete with them. Eventually, you end up with a handful of huge companies controlling the food supply.

Diversity is as important to the health of commerce as it is to nature. These huge corporations become predators, driven by the continual need to return profitability and growth, and high share prices for city investors. The market has failed when a handful of companies are allowed to dominate in this way. They become "too big to fail" and their power affects entire national economies.

3. It isn't just Tesco, but Tesco is the biggest culprit. Very few planning authorities have shown resistance to the power of these brands.

4 Until their competitors in that locality have been wiped out.

5. Look at the investigation of the supermarkets by the Competition Commission and the references to "price flexing", for example, "the practice of varying prices in different geographical locations in the light of local competitive conditions, such variation not being related to costs' - i.e. they charge whatever they can get away with once the competition is wiped out.

Similarly - and Tesco is not unique - competition between supermarkets is limited to a few items and "loss leaders" designed to tempt you into the store. There is very little competition across the rest of the range.

I've bought things in Tesco, yes. But usually only when I'm on my travels and I've run out of something, e.g. ciggies. The amount I spend in Tesco probably amounts to less than one per cent of my weekly shop, since I avoid it most of the time.

[bekisman]

It's a pity you're not so, shall we say, 'thoughtful, ref your 'ciggies' origination...


Problems in Tobacco Production
Child Labour

The International Labour Office reported that the most child-labourers work in agriculture, which is one of the most hazardous types of work.

The tobacco industry houses some of these working children. There is widespread use of children on farms in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malawi, the United States and Zimbabwe.
While some of these children work with their families on small family-owned farms, others work on large plantations. In late 2009 reports were released by the London-based human-rights group Plan International, claiming that child labour was common on Malawi (producer of 1.8% of the world’s tobacco) tobacco farms.
The organization interviewed 44 teens, who worked full-time on farms during the 2007-2008 growing season. The child-labourers complained of low pay, long hours as well as physical and sexual abuse by their supervisors. They also reported suffering from “green tobacco sickness,” a form of nicotine poisoning. When wet leaves are handled, nicotine from the leaves gets absorbed in the skin and causes nausea, vomiting and dizziness. Children were exposed to 50-cigarettes worth of nicotine through direct contact with tobacco leaves.
This level of nicotine in children can permanently alter brain structure and function.
Families that farm tobacco often have to make the difficult decision between having their children work or go to school. Unfortunately working often beats education because tobacco farmers, especially in the developing world, cannot make enough money from their crop to survive without the cheap labour that children provide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco

[Sara Jevo]

Bekisman - perhaps straw man would be a better moniker for you.

[bekisman]

Bekisman - perhaps straw man would be a better moniker for you.

OK descend to abuse, could say 'Sarajevo' might be misconstrued as synonymous with this; http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/easteurope/SarajevoSiege.CP.html
Or Neo-Luddism against supermarkets and their offering of access to affordable items to the masses - if the demand is not there, it dies...
(And that's nothing to do with the detailed conversation I had with Doug Wilson; Tesco corporate affairs manager ref Thurso Tesco a few years back) - yes I do 'get involved' unlike some who may spout from the back row..

Have a nice day, Sara, I'm off over to Tesco's..

[Sara Jevo]

I do like that link lol . . .

the beautiful Sarajevo is an often admired site of intellectuals and peoples of all races

Whereas as a straw man . . .

To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar yet weaker proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position

Hmmmm . . . enjoy the shopping