ME NO GO TESCO

We sell these T-shirts at South Quay Market with the slogan ME NO GO TESCO.

Big supermarkets like Tesco drive prices down from local suppliers in order to maximise profits for their shareholders. They would'nt be doing their job properly if they did anything else. If it is cheaper to import a strawberry from the USA that's where it comes from, even if a superior local product is growing a few miles away. Mass purchasing from large scale suppliers also means simpler and more cost effective logistics and distribution. It also means more lorries, more aeroplanes and more cars but that is someone else's problem.

Their so called "carbon-footprint" can always be offset by spending a few million on carbon offsetting somehwere else in the world and keeping the supermarkets "green".

The same product in the same shape sold in all UK stores makes life simple and cost effective for the big supermarkets and cheap for the consumer. With massive market share they can extend their product range to price independant suppliers and shops out of the market. This is exacerbated when local government need town centre parking charges as a major source of revenue, meaning it is much more tempting to park for free at the out of town supermarket.

The first potential problem is that we the consumer can lose all control of what we buy and who produces it. There is no link anymore between what we buy and the community we live in. Eventually, everyone lives in Tesco Land. We just turn up and buy stuff in plastic packaging beause it conforms to a standard size and because it is very convenient. Then we moan because the community we live in is snarled up with traffic and the farms are replaced with fast food drive-ins and out of town shopping malls. Our kids are obese and our high street full of charity shops and estate agents. (At least until Tesco go into these markets too)

But there is a small risk for the supermarket giants. Am I the only consumer who finds large supermarkets dreary, boring and impersonal? No passion for the products sold, no interaction with staff, no style, no character.. Am I the only one who resents that a local dairy farmer or bakery has gone under becuase they could not sustain their business based on supermarket terms and conditions?

What if local produce and local goods were not confined to the local Farmers Market which opens the third Tuesday in the month, so the middle classes can make a gesture of support for local producers? What if local producers, combined forces with local designers, artists and independant businesses? What if these retail hot spots were funky, entertaining and commercially well managed? What if they also had an on-line element, so consumers could still buy when it was raining or when they were not able to make a personal visit.

The ambition of Kentish Trader is that one day when the Financial Director of Tescos reports to the main board, he will have to show one small national blip in retails sales growth.

"I'm sorry JD" he might say, " we have acheived all our growth targets across the UK but for some reason sales are down 1.3% in Kent".

Would'nt that be something?