Retailing

An all party group of MP’s looking at retailing produced a report that was published today, that I find utterly baffling. In essence they want to “support” small retailers, and ensure that large retailers don’t dominate and produced “cloned towns”

There is almost nothing in this report that I agree with. First off, large retailers get to be large by supplying goods and services to people at a price they like. If they don’t do this, they won’t be large retailers for very long. Small retailers with either succeed in niche markets or by supplying value added customer care. Maybe they will get to be large retailers one day.

But what we surely don’t need is a retail ombudsman, (meaning more civil servants, more regulation and more tax). If small business needs help it needs it in the form of lower taxes and less regulation. As for the less successful retailers, why is it in my interest as a consumer to have to pay higher prices, for a lesser product range? Surely we should not give business like this some kind of statutory protection?

Then there is the argument that we need to maintain competition in retailing. I’m very confident that Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda/Walmart, Morrissons, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose, Co-op and one or two others do this just fine.

Finally there is the charge that we are producing clone town centres. This is broadly true. But really, look at tedious unimaginative planning officers and planning committee members who believe everything should be “in-keeping” This is a philosophy which utterly stifles imaginative development and actually leads to the “clone-town” phenomena

So really, the government as ever, jujst need to back away and let architects design quality buildings without stupid planning restrictions (look at the Bluewater frontages for an example of this) and let shops compete, and we will have varied products at low prices, without the need for more civil servants.