Mate's business goes bump [Archive] - SV650.org

Bri w

10-02-13, 07:47 AM

After over 20yrs as a successful butcher, he closed the doors last weekend for the last time. Apparently his takings were as good as ever but the costs for gas, elec, business rates & rent have gone into orbit in the last year. The final straw being a rent rise of £1,000 per month from Jan 1st.

Bizarrely, 3 different local butchers closed their doors for the last time last week. Either horse meat is getting expensive or there's a cunning plan to turn us all into veggie's.

Specialone

10-02-13, 08:03 AM

That sucks Bri :(

Once global domination is complete by the large 4 supermarkets, we won't have anyone left on the high street, let alone butchers.

It's frightening how many large or even hyper markets are within a few miles of me, they just destroy the high streets because they sell everything not just groceries.

The only retailers that occupy the vacant shops then are takeaways, which really helps our health.

Messie

10-02-13, 08:40 AM

That's interesting. I have two proper butchers quite close to me, and they looked like they were doing good trade yesterday. One even had a sign that said "Sorry, no horse meat"

I would've thought even more people would want to use butchers ans you can be so much more certain of what you are getting, plus they give excellent advice.

I hope this horse meat scare puts everyone off eating cheap, nasty and bad for you ready meals.

Sorry to hear about your friend Bri

Specialone

10-02-13, 08:55 AM

Yeah I'm sure butchers are reaping the rewards of this scandal ATM and once it all dies down consumers will go back to their normal buying habits.

L3nny

10-02-13, 09:15 AM

yorkie_chris

10-02-13, 10:09 AM

Also (horese meat aside) the quality of the produce in supermarkets is often just as good as in independants.

You must have some really poor butchers or some really good supermarkets.

It's been ages since I bought some taste-free, full of water, slimy, obviously more days old than you'd generally see as fit for sale chicken from a supermarket but I think the 2 small and insipid fillets cost about a fiver.

The local farm shop does a tray of 10 really decent sized, tasty fillets for £11.50, and the rest of the meat there kicks the *rse out of the supermarket in price and quality easily.

One of my mates is from a farming family round here, when she gets a lift back to uni she's refused to take her Dad in the supermarket because he's almost impossible, going around "bloody hell have you seen how much that is" "mad bast*rds paying that!" at every item!

I try and stay out of the big supermarkets as much as possible, the best thing they have is cheap booze. Don't be tempted into "just picking up" the odd high-profit item on the way to the plonk isle and back either!

squirrel_hunter

10-02-13, 10:22 AM

IMO it's not the big 4 who are killing the high street it's the councils.

I would much prefer to go to my local high street and go to local independant shops but because of stupid trafffic management and expensive parking it's just a lot easier to go to an out of town supermarket.

I agree with that. I would use the local high street more but for the parking. If I'm not on the bike then parking is a big influence.

For example today I intend on buying something, I could go to my local town center and get it, have a wonder around maybe pick up something else or have a look in a shop or two if I think of other things while I'm out. Might even grab a freshly made sandwich or pasty.

But if I do that I will have to pay £1.20 to park. So I'll just go to one of those nondescript warehouse retail parks full of national big brand shops, park for free and just buy the one thing.

Mr Speirs

10-02-13, 10:36 AM

I hope that its all just a big circle. Supermarkets and out of town shopping centres take business away from the high street. High street shops close. Eventually the rent on shops reaches an affordable level and normal people who can't find work start their own business and revives the high street by giving owner to customer levels of service and knowledge.

disco2

10-02-13, 10:42 AM

I agree with that. I would use the local high street more but for the parking. If I'm not on the bike then parking is a big influence.

For example today I intend on buying something, I could go to my local town center and get it, have a wonder around maybe pick up something else or have a look in a shop or two if I think of other things while I'm out. Might even grab a freshly made sandwich or pasty.

But if I do that I will have to pay £1.20 to park. So I'll just go to one of those nondescript warehouse retail parks full of national big brand shops, park for free and just buy the one thing.

Me to parking in Southend high street is a joke if you can find a space which is no easy task you have to pay through the nose for it.

So if I pop into town on the bike I can only get what me and the wife can get in a ruck sack.

So tend to use the car and go to a retail park no parking fees stay as long as you like and get parked easy.
This is something that needs to change so the high streets survive imo...

dizzyblonde

10-02-13, 10:52 AM

I'd be inclined to agree with the statement that councils are killing off the high street and local shops. Rent and rates are astonishing, and would put any would be small business owner off from the start. Then add utility bills at business rates, and it screams impending doom!
Large chains can afford to take on the outbound cost from the start.

Pegs just been dealing with the gas bill for the new shop. I gulped :mad:

tigersaw

10-02-13, 11:14 AM

My Grandad and Dad (when he was younger) were butchers, so my dad can spot a cut of meat in the supermarket. Often as not they are either deliberately or unintentionally not the cut they describe but a cheaper one.
If the landlords and councils could stop being such greedy cnuts the high street might stand a chance to compete.

Luckypants

10-02-13, 11:16 AM

The final straw being a rent rise of £1,000 per month from Jan 1st.

This is what is killing the high street along with sky-high business rates.

Specialone

10-02-13, 11:24 AM

Yeah I agree about the rates being a factor but the Indian and Chinese takeaways that take over seem to afford the rates.

And the supermarkets don't do takeaways as such, a connection?

Don't discount the threat of the big supermarkets, they screw their suppliers on price, so puts them under pressure so some will cut corners just to survive.

We as consumers, have to accept some of the blame, we demand cheaper prices, convenience etc

L3nny

10-02-13, 12:50 PM

You must have some really poor butchers or some really good supermarkets.

Not poor butchers, just really expensive and I don't have a very sophisticated palate so can't taste the difference between the £10 butchers chicken or the £4 supermarket one.

Dicky Ticker

10-02-13, 12:59 PM

One benefit of living a small town is we still have free [time limit but no traffic wardens] high st parking and a cheap 50p for two hours carpark.

DarrenSV650S

10-02-13, 01:10 PM

Specialone

10-02-13, 01:23 PM

Not poor butchers, just really expensive and I don't have a very sophisticated palate so can't taste the difference between the £10 butchers chicken or the £4 supermarket one.

Taste a free range bred chicken and a supermarket value one mate, the difference is massive.

Kenzie

10-02-13, 01:23 PM

Business rates here in Ipswich are really high for the town centre. That's why so many shops are empty and the big stores are opening on the outskirts of town.

metalmonkey

10-02-13, 01:26 PM

We should stop importing cheap, crap food I don't understand why we need to import food we have a lot a fallow land here in the UK, which could be easily farmed to produce quality food. I think its crazy that its cheaper to import food than grow it here. I hope this makes people take notice of what they are eating.

I really think the government does nothing to encourage small business and new start ups, my mate owns a business, tax, insurance, vat, business banking, clients not paying invoices on time really screws us over. Its always big business, that take the longest time to pay, then the banks remove the cash follow and its game over.

We should stop paying the EU money for farming, along with all the rip off taxes we pay to them pay it to own farmers and produce good food, which we then can buy fresh direct from the farmers, or a local shop where its travelled a few miles and is fresh that day its the only way we can improve our health as a nation.

I find it very strange that people don't know where food comes from, never seen a live farm animal, a fish or a field full of food not sure what they think but its not set in the real world if you think everything comes wrapped in plastic.

Biker Biggles

10-02-13, 01:57 PM

Its mainly the parking.Around here the council (Barnet)have screwed the locals for parking and the High streets are dying.Four miles up the road in Potters Bar(Hertsmere)you can park in the High street free for an hour,after which it costs loads to prevent all day parking.Plenty of thriving shops in Potters Bar.

Sid Squid

10-02-13, 03:07 PM

IMO it's not the big 4 who are killing the high street it's the councils.
Exactly, in my area it's no so much parking, (although the council are fantastically greedy over that too), a significant amount of retail space is council owned as well. In the last few years we've lost a greengrocer and three butchers to spectacular rent rises - all in council properties. All those properties and plenty other council properties are still empty, some for more than five years. Camden's reckless stupidity defies any understanding.

Indian and Chinese takeaways that take over seem to afford the rates.
As the fortunes of certain socio-economic groups wane, more is spent on takeaway food, there's no unknown connection there, despite the fact it seems counter-intuitive it is well established behaviour.

We as consumers, have to accept some of the blame, we demand cheaper prices, convenience etc
Some? You're a generous man. As a society we have prized cheap food as a social leveller and aspired to it's production in greater amounts, on the face of it that seems like an excellent aspiration - cheap food must mean less hungry people right? The fact that also means lower quality food is one of those horrible unintended consequences that's come to haunt us.

But what's to be done? Raise prices? Certainly that might provide some economic breathing space for providers of foodstuffs that are economically marginal, but I can already hear the squealing about the hardships some might face.

Specialone

10-02-13, 03:24 PM

Actually, raising prices would achieve nothing apart from increase profits to the big retailers, they already know how to use the buy low sell high formula, there isn't a cat in hells chance they would reverse this thinking.

Retailers are greedy in this country, this is all linked to high inflation and increasing cost of living too though.

Councils have increasing costs so look at every avenue to gain some income, with central government not offering any additional funds, the next along the list is retail and business to contribute more, something the smaller retailers struggle to achieve.

If people knew how little products were manufactured for and how much mark up was placed on them when put for sale over here, there would be anarchy.

metalmonkey

10-02-13, 04:10 PM

The highstreet is now littered with pound shops, betting shops and similar as such its also changing the people that are actually in the area, its bit of a sterotype but have you seen the people that hangout around betting shops. As they pay the high rents, I don't think councils actually mind.

Famers need to paid a fair rate for their produce, so it can be provided for everyone at reasonable prices but for reasons already talked about will that happen. Also if this were to happen would people be willing to change their habits if that choice was offered to them...

I think the ironic side of all this cheap junk food, means that people are going to be more unhealty as time goes on which is going result in a higher cost to the social welfare system so there is a price to paid by various parties both in cost and quality of life.

Supervox

10-02-13, 05:22 PM

Me to parking in Southend high street is a joke if you can find a space which is no easy task you have to pay through the nose for it.

So if I pop into town on the bike I can only get what me and the wife can get in a ruck sack.

So tend to use the car and go to a retail park no parking fees stay as long as you like and get parked easy.
This is something that needs to change so the high streets survive imo...

I think Southend is actually quite good for parking.

I've never failed to find a parking space in the multi-storey (Garons) & the prices aren't outrageous yesterday I was in town for 5 hrs - £3.50.

L3nny

10-02-13, 05:57 PM

I have just moved to Milton Keynes, there is a sort of town centre, although not a conventional high street surrounded by a number of out of town retail parks, the retail parks are free to park in but it's 1.20 an hour in the centre, stupid thing is it's the same shops in the centre as are on the retail parks so why would you pay to park in the centre?

Where I used to live in Stratford on Avon the council has actively tried to reduce the need for locals to go to the town centre with excessive parking charges and reducing number of spaces, at the same time 2 new retail outlets have been built out of town. I suppose it's to make the roads quieter so the Japanese tourists don't get run over as the wander backwards into the road with an SLR stuck to their face.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Messie

10-02-13, 06:13 PM

Did you read Bri's post :confused:
Yes, I did , thank you.

That was my opinion on the original post.

Apologies if my opinion doesn't match yours

x

missyburd

10-02-13, 07:44 PM

Yeah I agree about the rates being a factor but the Indian and Chinese takeaways that take over seem to afford the rates.

And the supermarkets don't do takeaways as such, a connection?

Thought supermarkets did do their version of takeways, chinese for 4 for a fiver? lol

Taste a free range bred chicken and a supermarket value one mate, the difference is massive.
+1, there really is no comparison. Though I will admit to having bought some special offer mackerel the other day from Tesco (had to go in unfortunately, that and 3 hours free parking is handy!) and it was very nice.

Our local farm shop is doing a roaring trade and opening another much bigger branch in another busy farming town with a croft and allsorts, they go the extra mile to educate people about farming and their animals which is much needed these days. People are so ignorant of what they ingest.

DarrenSV650S

10-02-13, 10:26 PM

Yes, I did , thank you.

That was my opinion on the original post.

Apologies if my opinion doesn't match yours

x

em ok I think you're still reading it wrong but what ever :p

It was nothing to do with your opinion

timwilky

11-02-13, 08:17 AM

I have a friend who is a butcher. He is always busy. When he established his shop he went for a small development that had a chippy, pub and a quik save (Remember them). but also plenty of free parking on the edge of a large(for round here) development of about 200 houses. When he set up, he opened 7 days a week, 6am -8pm. but as he established a customer base and got married/family, he now employs staff and only opens 6 days a week. Ironically he nearly went under 2 years ago but found the source of his cash problems to be his assistant having sticky fingers. Aside. Farm shops round here do a roaring trade. Lots of complaints the local Asda now has no stock and limited choice. Add that to dated fruit and veg and you soon discover they are driving away the customers that have a choice. They will soon become the domain of the benefit class.