Tesco Coming to Sydenham Road

[Eagle]

Dickp
I am sure there are more people in the Sava Centre at any time than those who have ever posted on this forum.

Does this mean that the majority are correct. Quite frankly some of the clientelle leave a lot to be desired. Do not seem to have had electrocution lessons or know the rules of etiquette .

It amazes me the volume of shopping some persons purchase at any one time. Can they really eat all that. Looking at their girth , possibly yes.

Hopefully the more ethical and up market shoppers will use the niche outlets in The High Street.

[Cathy]

I'll be the one wearing a paper bag over my head when my main shopping is delivered this evening then!

I do however also use the Co-Op, White's pet shop, The Cake Shop, a couple of the other shops that do all sorts of bits and bobs on the high street, Kirkdale bookshop, The Stationery Box, the Newsagents just by Acorn, and Billings all very regularly Saturdays too.

I like a wide variety of choice.

[leenewham]

You need competition. 31% of any market going to one company is too much. It makes one player too powerful. That's wrong. That's not what we need. I'm sure you agree with that Dick.

Tesco buy sites to stop other supermarkets taking them (it's called land banking).
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 69513.html

We need choice, real choice. Not choice as to whether we go to the same Tesco selling the same Tesco stuff at higher than normal Tesco prices because they are Tesco Express or Metro's rather than just Tesco. Or choice between Tesco Forest HIll, Tesco Perry Hill, Tesco Catford, Tesco Penge, Tesco Kirkdale or Tesco Sydenham.

Tesco are fixated with their share price. Go to their head office and it dominates the entrance. In order to keep that share price up and therefore the directors bonus's, they have to meet the markets expectations (basically some guys in a room predicting the future). So they need to expand. Expansion overseas hasn't worked and they are at critical mass in the UK.

So they are now owning coffee shops and are branching out into non-food. Again. They have stopped innovating and are now following others (discounter brands were introduced to Tesco to copy Lidl and Aldi for instance). They are worried about the future and as recent sales shop, they are not growing as they want. So for now expect more Tesco on your high street in various guises so all our streets look and feel the same.

I wont shop there. I don't like them. I worked for them for years and they have a nasty culture at head office and treat suppliers really badly. They are bad for the high street. They are bad for Sydenham. We don't need them.

But as Rod says, no-one will boycot them, I'm sure they will do reasonably well. In the meantime we lost a space that could have been a great a restaurant, or bar. It's a shame that opportunity has now passed us by.

F***.

(Pardon my French)

[dickp]

That's why we have competition law.

It doesn't prevent one company dominating a market, but it does prevent abuse flowing from that dominant position. It also protects against cartels, and predatory pricing. Companies who behave anti-competitively can be fined 10% of global group turnover. That's a bluddy big incentive to behave yourself.

Siemens (OK, not a retailer), was fined €423 million a couple of years ago by the EU for its role in a cartel involving electronics gear. In the UK, BA was fined £121.5 million in 2007 for colluding with Virgin over passenger surcharges.

Supermarkets have received several hard slaps from the regulators in recent years on competition law grounds. However, they've not yet faced a sustained attempt to break them up, despite their market share.

Checks and balances are in place.

[michael]

Sounds about time for me to take the opportunity to advertise Forest Hill Food Fair on Sunday, 3rd March 11am-4pm. Where you can find a variety of foods sourced and produced by local people.

As well as providing alternative sources of food from the supermarkets, we encourage the traders to set up shops in the local area - shops like Aga's Deli and The Butchery (opening tomorrow), which I hope will continue to flourish despite the presence of supermarkets.

Forest Hill Food Fair is located at Forest Hill station car park (at the front) - just two minutes from Sydenham station by the regular trains. Parking is free at Sainsburys and Perry Vale car park all day Sunday.

We will even have some tables in the car park for people to sit down and eat some of the delicious food on sale, alternatively you can have a wander up the high street and try some of the lovely cafes, pubs, creperies, boutiques, and swimming pools that have opened up in the last couple of years.

[dickp]

Ooh goody. The ham hocks I bought from the butchery when they were a pop-up shop were lovely - and cheap!

I shall be going along to stuff my face.

[Eagle]

I agree , must try and visit the Food Fayre.

[JulietP]

It's open from 7am to 11pm. it's convenient and it's close. I occasionally try to use the kirkdale costcutter as an alternative when I'm coming home late, but the food always seems of a poorer quality, the sell by dates suspiciously close and the fresh food non-existent.

I work long hours and I'm never in the high street between 9 and 6. What alternative do I have for those little bits between big shops? I find the slightly snobbish, superior-to-thou attitude to Tesco quite irritating, actually.

[hilsbee]

Ooops! "Dead bird five inches long found in Tesco ‘ready to eat’ salad"

http://metro.co.uk/2013/02/21/dead-bird ... d-3508445/

[stone-penge]

I find the slightly snobbish, superior-to-thou attitude to Tesco quite irritating, actually.

I would contend its Tescos who have the superior attitude, considering they feel they can own any high street they wish. Soon this will be true:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfSi0D7KESk

[Maria]

What alternative do I have for those little bits between big shops?

Well, open after 6 pm we have PFC which is a spectacular shop, and the Co-Op just a few metres further down the road, and Lidl which, according to one of the best chefs in London, has for example the best (and by far the cheapest) olive oil... and with a bit of week/end planning you have (most probably) a freezer where you can store the delicious meats and fish and vegetables wich can be bought from Billings, Fresh and Fruity, PFC.... and so on.

And the busier your working life is, if you love to eat well and are concerned about your well being, then a slow cooker is a must. Especially if you, at last minute, on arriving home, just put your stews for 20 minutes in the oven topped with cobblers or pastry or scone mixture (for some ideas see Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's article in http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... cipes-stew - amazing!). Sorted!

I know, I too have had an extremely busy working life with rather long hours. But Tesco? I wouldn't cross the threshold. Ever.

[G-Man]

Here here Maria. Great stuff and mine and the G-lady's view.

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[Eagle]

Who is shopping at Tesco then. Hardly anyone according to these posts. But I guess , as I have pointed out before , posters on this site are not a cross section of SE 26.

I am not a great fan of Mr Cohen's emporium , but would not go as far to to boycott it.

Tolerance please for other people views.

[Eagle]

No problem with giving the facts , as you say. But of course we must ensure they are facts.

[hairybuddha]

Eagle: Who is shopping at Tesco then. Hardly anyone according to these posts. But I guess , as I have pointed out before , posters on this site are not a cross section of SE 26.

I am not a great fan of Mr Cohen's emporium , but would not go as far to to boycott it.

Tolerance please for other people views.

I'll certainly be shopping there and I'm quite looking forward to it's arrival. The area around the two-halfs is a digrace and it will be good to see it put to good use. I wonder how long some of those on this forum will be able to hold out for? I detect a great deal of bluster on this thread...

I quite object to the idea that all Tesco sells is unhealthy "sludge". Presumably this is as opposed to the life affirming manna from heaven sold in PFC, Istanbul and our various depressing "convenience stores"?

[Eagle]

Maybe Tesco will have the Guts , unlike The 2 halves , to get rid of the anti social element just outside.
We have no chance of an outdoor coffee culture with such parasites about.

I guess Tesco will do quite well and I hope existing traders do not suffer to much.

Up to the customer.

[hairybuddha]

@Eagle

I don't see PFC and Istanbul as direct competitors to Tesco. The Istanbul at lower Sydenham especially is great for meze, flatbreads and fruit and veg (and I can't get bottles of EFES anywhere else!). And I will continue to use them for that. There is space for all three in my opinion.

I'm just pleased that we're going to see increased choice and convenience and a little bit of investment in an area sorely needing it.

[Mazzer]

I'm gutted tesco will be opening on the high street. It is well known that where Tesco go, other shops close. I would be devastated to lose PFC (open 24 hours every single day of the year and absolutely brilliant stock - my husband is a chef and loves the place), Billings, Lidl and the co-op (though I do admit the co-op is a bit rubbish, but at least it is of the more morally sound supermarkets and tends to have what I can't find in the other shops I mentioned), and I can get everything I need in those shops (bar a few essential items that I occasionally have to head down to the massive Sainsburys for - but a small Tesco wouldn't be able to help with those items anyway).

I don't mind Tesco food, fruit and veg are fine for example (though I'm sure people will now be able to tell me horror stories about how they keep their apples so shiny and crunchy etc) and I understand it is a convenient one-stop-shop, but I do mind how they treat their suppliers, their staff, their community and the environment, and the more power we give them the more they will be able to abuse this. I found this report which is pretty old but everything I've read more recently supports that this is still the case for Tesco:

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_bri ... _hurts.pdf

And a little Tesco is hardly going to stock a wider range of produce than the co-op, or Lidl, or PFC anyway.

I wont shop at Tesco in Sydenham, i don't need to and I don't want to. And I'm not a snob - I'm no stranger to Lidl to say the least (though you will often find me in the car park swearing about it when I'm fighting with their useless trollys!). Saying that, maybe I should go and check out their ethics, are they just as bad????...

[Mr_Sheen]

There's been a Tesco Express in Penge for a year now. As far as I'm aware Penge Food Centre, Lidl, Penge Quality Fish, Murray Brothers butchers, Fosdick's Newsagents (lovely place - love the staff there) are all still there.

[gerispringer]

I hate tesco and won't shop there but I would rather have them there than the current eyesore.

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