Fury as grocery giant buys out rival store (From Gazette Series)

Fury as grocery giant buys out rival store

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has been accused of playing a mean trick on Dursley after an announcement this week that it will be taking over the popular Co-op store in Cam.

In a shock announcement on Monday afternoon, staff at Cam Co-op were told that their store was being bought by Tesco, plunging the regeneration of Dursley back into the melting pot.

Only months ago Tesco appeared to have reached agreement with Stroud District Council for the building of a 20,000 ft new supermarket in Castle Street, Dursley, a move the council felt would attract other major retailers to the town.

Monday's unexpected announcement has put the building of the new store in doubt although Tesco has said it may still go ahead.

Cllr Nigel Studdert-Kennedy, SDC cabinet member for regeneration, was not convinced.

"We have been deceived," he said. "While we have been negotiating positively with Tesco they have been working behind our back to buy the Co-op."

The building of the new store would also have provided the town with a new fire station, a new youth centre and improved sporting facilities for Rednock School.

Cllr Studdert-Kennedy added: "We had a deal here that gave Dursley a new youth centre, astroturf pitch and fire station.

"This would have kept people in the town centre. Now that incentive has been removed. This is not good news.

"This is about Tesco extending its monopoly and trying to trample on Dursley in the progress. It seems that every little helps Tesco."

The statement from the Co-op revealed that they had decided to sell out before being crushed by the competition.

Bob Burlton, chief executive of the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op, said a new supermarket in the area would have had a profound effect on their business.

"We owe it to our employees not only in Cam but also across the society to secure the best possible outcome to a situation over which we would have very little control," he said.

"This is a sad occasion for the society but in the current retail climate the directors felt this was the best option for everyone involved."

Co-op spokesman Adrian Barradell told the Gazette that the Cam sale was a one off and that otherwise the group was looking to expand - possibly in Dursley.

"Our aim is expand on what we have got. We would much rather open stores than close them down and we have no plans to sell any others."

Tesco corporate affairs manager Andrew Slight said the purchase allowed the chain to speed up its arrival in the area.

"By buying the Cam Co-op store we can get here much more quickly," he said.

He added that Tesco would be offering a wide range of food products along with a non-food range including newspapers, magazines, CDs and DVDs.

Current Co-op staff should be able to continue working at the store once Tesco takes over but the Dorothy Perkins store and the travel shop inside is to close.

Mr Slight went on to say that the chain had not ruled out building a new Dursley store as well.

"We are the preferred bidder in Dursley and we are keen to come to the town," he said. "We would still like to do that."

The handover from the Co-op to Tesco should be completed some time in October.