Over the past few decades, the business community has adopted a counter view to ‘small is beautiful’. Instead, the message has been ‘big is better’ and you don’t have to look far to see evidence of this trend. Take our supermarkets; we used to be a nation of family-run shopkeepers but now 92% of all grocery sales go though a few shareholder-driven Multiples. Household names they may be, but are we really happy that Tesco, Sainsbury’s and ASDA account for 64% of our spend in the supermarket, especially when we realise that this dominance has contributed to the demise of local grocers? And in Stamford, Lincolnshire it means we no longer have a specialist fruit and vegetable retailer, except on Market Day. So we can get the Government’s recommended five-a-day, but only on Fridays!
Our local butchers are also struggling to compete with cheaper cuts sourced from ‘who-knows- where’ internationally. Again the big supermarkets tell us it’s about their ability to buy big to achieve economies of scale, but is this not a euphemism for ‘squeeze the farmer’? And supermarket bosses will counter any argument against their size and power with a reminder of the year-round benefits consumers receive of ‘more choice, lower prices and better quality.’ Why is it then that in recent weeks prices seem to have shot up? According to mysupermarket.co.uk, which tracks prices at the big names, a family grocery bill of £100 per week in August 2007 would now be £127 – more than 25% extra, justified by increasing commodity prices and the cost of fuel. It will be interesting to see if they pass on the cost reductions just as quickly. The quality of the food on offer also seems to be called into question on a daily basis (thank you Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall), and do we really need the choice of South African apples in October when English apples burden our trees?
Remember, big, we are told is good for us, but then I think I remember the banks telling us this not so long ago and look at them now – bailed out by you and me, the ‘little people’.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not a ‘biggist’, scale in some businesses is critical. Take the pharmaceutical industry where research costs are so onerous or the petrochemicals where exploration is risky and capital costs are so high. In these markets there is a case for ‘bigness’. What worries me is the potential impact and consumer abuse that can arise from scale combined with market dominance.
Anyhow, let’s get back to the real economy and thinking local. Stamford businesses, whether a deli or a design company, are going through difficult times and many of the small businesses may be worrying about how to survive. What can we, as local citizens, do to support our treasured local entrepreneurs? We can obviously buy local, and we should encourage everyone to do so whenever they can. But more than this, I believe we should reward the passion and talent invested in our local businesses. And by that I mean, buy people not products. Trust people not corporate PR. Make decisions that reward you with a good feeling that you have supported a family rather than a faceless group of shareholders. Ask questions about the authenticity and provenance of products and not just the price. Maybe, just maybe, by doing this we as a local economy can survive and build a better community that is proud to be ‘small’.
Paul Middlebrook
Managing Director, DUO Design and Marketing
