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.