THE owners of an independent convenience store in Frampton Cotterell say they have lost 30 per cent of trade since a Sainsbury’s Local opened a week ago.

Edwina Pennell has run the Nisa shop on Woodend Road for 25 years but instead of marking the anniversary, the family-run business is facing financial ruin having seen its footfall drop dramatically since the multi-national opened nearby on Badminton Road in Coalpit Heath last Thursday (August 20).

Parish councillor Mrs Pennell said: “Customers have been down 30 per cent since the day it opened.

“It is a having a very bad effect and we don’t know what to expect day by day.

“We need customers to come back because we won’t be able to sustain that kind of loss for long.

“We don’t have some of the ranges Sainsbury’s has but some of our prices are actually cheaper than them.”

She added: “There has been a shop on this site for 100 years and we as a family have run the business independently, we are not a franchise, for 25 years.

“We have never had a threat like this before or an occasion where sales have dropped like this.

“For us it is terrifying.”

The Nisa store is about to reopen Coalpit Heath’s Post Office in the store after a branch closed down in March .

Mrs Pennell has invested £40,000 in refitting the shop to accommodate a Post Office counter, which will open on Monday, September 14 at 1pm.

“It is a positive thing but a huge gamble for us,” she said. “We are relying on people to come and use it. We are really hoping it will be our lifeline to keep us going.”

Kath Aldom, founder of Coalpit Heath charity Paul’s Place, vowed she would never set foot in the Sainsbury’s store.

“Edwina has worked tirelessly to provide everything our village wants,” she said. “She supports our charity financially, by letting our members volunteer there and selling the sweets we make, she supports the local schools, the Frampton Festival and is very much involved in the community. When someone is ill they send one of their staff round to make sure they are okay.

“She does all that only for a multi-national to come in and not care about the community. For Sainsbury’s, their bottom line is profit.

“We need to support our local businesses and safeguard them.”

The manager of the Sainsbury’s Local store, Lyndsay Maidment, has visited Mrs Pennell to try and allay her concerns.

Ms Maidment said the opening had gone smoothly and the first customers had been positive about the new store, which employs 20 people 12 of whom are new to Sainsbury’s.

“It has been really good so far and we have had some really positive feedback. We have had lots of people coming in for a look around and they are impressed with the huge range we have here.

“We have a lot of different ranges than normal convenience stores and we are stocking organic products, which customers have already commented on.”