IT’S BEEN almost two months now since the new Morrisons store opened in the centre of Westbury. There had been high hopes that the store, on the site of the former Coopers supermarket, would help revitalise the town centre and bring in more trade. So what has been the effect so far?
The White Horse News asked a variety of traders in the town, as well as townspeople, to give their perspective on how the store has affected the town.
Although all the Westbury shoppers we spoke to were happy to see the vacant site filled, traders failed to reach a consensus on the economic effect Morrisons has had.
One store that has seen an effect on their trade since Morrisons opened is the Co-op. The store’s weekly sales are down by about £60,000 a week compared to when there was no competing supermarket in town (during the months when Coopers were closed).
However Co-op manager Simon Bush, said, “Our sales are up on this time last year by about 7-8 percent, so Morrisons hasn’t had any effect whatsoever compared to last year. I think the Post Office has helped sales, but also that a lot of people have decided to join the Co-op membership.”
Simon added that their reduced sales since Morrisons opened was to be expected, but the comparative growth in sales on last year was very positive for them. He attributed the growth to customer loyalty, good service, shop standards and range of products.
For other shops around town there was a range of opinions on the Morrisons effect.
SK Fruits manager, Alison Crew, said, “Initially our trade dropped off but it’s coming back now. When there was no Cooper’s the town centre seemed busier and it was nice. But I do think it’s good to have a supermarket again. I don’t think there’s much difference really, trade is still the same for us. Like I said initially it fell away because Morrison’s was a novelty but that’s just human nature. It’s back to normal now, our customers are very loyal, we have lovely customers.”
Chris Linham, of Linham’s Butchers, said “For the first few weeks we did see a drop but it’s picking up again. We’re just doing our own thing. I think it’s good to get another supermarket in the town, it could’ve been left shut. It’s also good for me that it’s Morrisons because it doesn’t seem to be doing the right things for meat, we’ve had a lot of people coming in saying they’re not keen on their meat. Supermarkets aren’t going to go away, they decimated our trade 15 years ago, and those of us that are left now are offering something a bit different. We’re all trying our best.”
Mike Cuthbert Murray, who runs Banana Blues said, “There hasn’t been any effect on our trade, but the town seems quieter since it opened.” Andrea Malone, from Andrea’s Flowers, said, “I haven’t really noticed a difference. It hasn’t made a difference to me anyway. I think people who before were going to SK Fruits and places like that are still going there.”
Checkers Baguette Shop added, “We’ve noticed that the town is busier, there’s more of a flow of traffic and we see more people around which is a positive thing, but it hasn’t really made a difference to us.”
Finally, Morrisons deputy manager Paul Challow, said, “So far things have gone very well. The customers are enjoying our range of products and the town is a lot busier, with a lot more people coming in, which will have a good effect on the town. We’ve been hitting all the sales targets we’ve been set which is very positive.”
