The battle of the supermarket giants looks set to kick off in Creek Road with Sainsbury's due to open a new 'Local' branch just a stone's throw from the Tesco Metro which set up shop a year or so ago.
I've not had chance to scope out the many empty retail units on Creek Road and see if there is any sign of the new shop yet, but it's my guess that it will be one of the units in the new 'Creekside Village', all of which have been vacant for some time.*
Whichever it is, they are recruiting staff so it won't be long before it opens.
Thanks to the commenter on the previous post for the spot.
*Updated (see comments); the new Sainsburys is to replace the Costcutter across the road from and head-to-head with Tesco.
9 comments:
Thanks for the acknowledgement Dame - it's actually good and bad news though. It's replacing the Costcutter on Creek Road (directly opposite Tesco) so the empty units still remain! I believe I saw a sign today saying its opening May 25th.
Ah, I did wonder about that too. The Costcutter always seems to have struggled, even before Tesco came along.
The Creekside developers must be asking way too much for their rents, I would have expected those units to have been snapped up by now.
I feel really sorry for the people who ran the Costcutters on Creek Road. They originally had a very small unit on the opposite side of the road which they kept very well stocked for a great many years. They then moved into the much bigger unit across the road and seemed to be managing just fine. Obviously, it was a little pricier than going to a supermarket but for a corner shop it was pretty good. Then Tesco opened - and it all went downhill. Nisa closed pretty much immediately and Costcutter held out for as long as possible but has now finally given up the ghost. However, I am interested in seeing how the competition between Sainsbury's and Tesco is going to pan out...that Tesco is not great.
As for the other shops on Creek Road, well we'll have to wait and see. It took nearly ten years for the units to fill at the Deptford end and some of them are still empty (nobody has filled the Nisa site which has stood empty for over a year now) and no one has shown a slight bit of interest in the Creekside development - it could be the rent costs, but more likely is the location, the recession, and size and design of the actual units and the footfall in the area.
It's open on May 25th incase anyone is wondering (I'm not a Sainsbury's spokesperson, I just happen to walk past is daily).
I'm in two minds about it, obviously it's never particularly pleasant to observe another chain supermarket moving in but there are certainly pros.
1. The Costcutter certainly did not cut any costs and left a lot to be desired in terms of selection.
2. I'd rather shop in Sainsburys than Tesco (lesser of two evils).
3. It's a long stretch of road with not much on it, I think people people need more than just a single Tesco. The alternative is walking all the way to either Deptford high street or into Greenwich. Maybe I'm just lazy.
4. Sainsburys generally stock a decent selection of beer. Rubbish reason.
Oh no, I'm going to get run over, crossing the road to do price comparisons. Still, the best prices for fresh fruit and veg will still be the high street.
@wilson I agree with you that it will be great to be able to buy decent beer locally. Not a rubbish reason at all! For all the off-licences on the high street not one of them stocks more than the odd bottle of decent ale. As far as I'm concerned it will be a welcome source of bottled ale, hopefully also some good wines, and the other bits and bobs I can't get on the high street.
This will be a most welcome addition, in my opinion. All Sainsburys have to do to succeed is actually have some staff manning their check-outs and demonstrate an understanding of customer service!
I agree, Tesco has the most appalling customer service in the smaller stores. To be shouted at or ignored when you are waiting for someone to serve you is not what I expect from a supermarket - thanks Creek Road staff for driving me away. All the Sainsbury's needs is staff who smile and are polite. They will easily take all of the business away from Tesco (who are becoming far too big for their boots).
It’s sobering that someone above already predicted getting run over, when that’s exactly what happed a few days ago.
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