There are 3 Tesco and 2 Sainsbury's within 10-minute walking distance of my room.

Yet
another Sainsbury's has opened its doors in Broomhill. With my basic understanding of
economics, surely there are more grocers than there is demand. How they possibly compete
(profitably!) is beyond me. Yet, the figures continue to show otherwise. There are over 1000
Sainsbury's and 3000 Tescos in UK! Over 500 supermarkets were granted planning
permission over 2 years. Should we worry about this Tescos and Sainsburys domination in
Sheffield?
As with all large businesses, Tesco has become synonymous with all the things people hate
about large businesses. These large retailers are closing down independent butchers and
grocers. Lousy customer service, inflated prices so they can later offer 2-for-1 discounts, and
so on. Then, there are aesthetic issues that arise- like whether our housing areas are
disrupted visually and noise-wise.
In a free market economy, a company can't be forced to stop expanding just because its
competitors are struggling to keep up. The same phenomena can be observed in other retail
sectors- H&M affects local boutiques, Starbucks onto little cafes. The most sensible path of
evolution is a dose of healthy competition, and so large supermarket chains and
independents can coexist. In US, there's IGA- a supermarket chain owned franchised and
owned by independent grocers. I trust the local councils have carefully considered the
interests of all those affected before granting planning permission. After all, it would be silly
to ignore the modern consumer's spending habits at large retailers. Besides, Sainsbury's
promises to create 10000 jobs over 3 years, which sounds jolly well.
An amusing clash between retailers occurred in Highland. The Highland council rejected an
application from Tesco and approved Asda, on the basis that there were "too many Tescos."
Tesco argued that it was "simply because of a desire to undermine the Tesco development".
No other council should present such biased reasons. There are more pressing issues to deal
with, like whether there's horsemeat in our beef for example, if our cows are milked
ethically, if all our supermarkets' supply chains are reliable.
Personally, I do not mind these large grocery retailers popping up around every corner. As a
student, Tesco is a godsend. We don't own cars and share tiny kitchens- which means we
must resort to shopping frequently in small quantities. The more outlets coming closer to
me, the more convenient! Besides, the meal deals offered are nutritious, affordable
luxuries. My heart skips a beat when I see yet another food item on sale at the Tesco
Express on the way home.
Perhaps I would feel prouder of myself if I shopped at an independent grocer, but there
aren't any around the corner, and so Sainsbury's is fine.