My job, like all jobs, has its ups and downs.  However, I absolutely love this time of year when we give out the cheques for our Community Chest awards.  It is a real pleasure to be able to help clubs and groups financially when such funding can be difficult for them to fund otherwise.

The people of Dersingham have really got behind the scheme and this became evident when the awards were distributed last week.  We had two PCSOs, the Vicar, Parish Councillors, Scout and guide leaders and numerous Brownies as well as repesentatives from charities, all arrive in the store to take part.  It was a real joy to see and hopefully we will be able to visit the beneficiary groups to see the difference that we have made.

Community retailing is all about the Community and its an honour to be part of it.  

 With the onslaught of the credit crunch, as with all grocery retailers, we are continuing to offer our customers excellent bargains.  As responsible retailers we do everything possible to keep ourselves as competitive as possible with our major competitors.

Last week I took part in a seminar at the Imperial War Museum in London entitled “Heart of the Community”.  I was indeed honoured to share a stage with both Iain Wright MP an under minister and the leader of the Lib Dems, Nick Clegg.  All three main parties were represented and they all gave the same message regarding small shops. 

Every MP present understood the vital role that small, family owned stores play in the community.  They all understood that value does not just refer to price but also to the benefits small shops have to the communities that they serve.

Thankfully, at long last, it seems that our message is getting across, albeit too late for many towns and villages throughout the UK.  So when you are next comparing prices, just stop for a moment and compare the true meaning of value !!

Last week I took part in an extremely interesting debate in London.  Myself and two Directors of other retailing groups were asked about the importance of value at times like this.  The “Credit Crunch” is beginning to bite hard and consumers are looking for a bargain like never before.

 The word value has many different meanings.  All of my stores are stocking ”value” products to help keep the everyday cost of shopping down.  Our latest “value “range is called “Nice Price” and it really is very good value for money. How do you put a “value” though on the local shop?  How valuable is it to an elderly person for them to be able to walk to a shop rather than depend on others to fetch goods?  How valuable is it for a disabled person to be able to make their purchases from a store where goods are easily reached rather than have to negotiate their way round a massive supermarket?  How valuable is it when a local shopkeeper informs relatives that they haven’t seen a particularly frail or vulnerable person for a while? These are all examples of where a local, family owned shop can add value to a community in so many other ways than just price. 

Consumers should understand just how valuable their local small shop is to their community and recognise just what a great bargain they have every day, just around the corner.

A major supermarket announced last week that it intended to source products worth a  billion pounds a year from “local producers”.  That is a proud boast indeed and I am sure will help those suppliers that hope to sell their wares on a bigger scale.

I firmly believe in local sourcing but our “local” means just that!  We source from growers and producers on a daily basis but ensure that “local” is a maximum of 40 miles from the store.  Being a rural area, it makes it far easier to visit farms etc and collect.  Those cottage industrys that supply us would never have the production capacity to provide any major supermarket.  They are happy to supply the volumes that we need and this makes for a truly wonderful partnership. 

Often the grower or producer will visit the store and help us sample their products to the consumer.  It’s how rural communities have worked for centuries in the form of markets.  I am proud to source locally and allow our suppliers to work at their own pace whilst paying them fair prices for their goods.  Long may it continue.

With fluctuating fuel prices and the ever deepening credit crunch, the importance of the local shop is becoming increasingly prevalent.  More and more customers are telling me that they are shopping locally to cut travelling costs and it appears to be the case as Soham high street certainly seems busier.

That is hardly surprising though as, unlike many of the UKs high streets, we still have a butcher, baker and greengrocer all of whom are family businesses.

Dersingham and Soham stores are also supporting local producers and so the community can benefit all round.  By buying fresh produce and groceries on a more regular basis, customers actually save money as the products they buy are used and not thrown away as is often the case with a “big shop”.

Hopefully, at times like this, the consumer will get to realise just how important local small shops are to the wellbeing of the community. Using family owned stores is both convenient and good value and benefits the community as a whole. Hopefully the public is getting to understand it before its too late.