Marple Website Community Calendar
Archive => Archived Boards => Local Issues => Topic started by: guy on February 17, 2014, 04:27:03 PM
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See this link: http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/Press/Press-releases/Headline-news/have-your-say/ .The Co-op is asking its customers to help shape the future of the organisation. Amongst other things it is asking what the Co-op could do to improve its goods and services. Its chief executive Euan Sutherland, is quoted as saying: “In recent years the Co-operative has lost touch with its customers and members and with the communities in which it operates – we haven’t been listening. If we are to successfully serve the communities in which we operate, to become as relevant today as we were in the past, we need to hear directly from the communities and the people we serve.”
There’s been some criticisms of the Co-op supermarket on this forum in the past. With the Hibbart Lane Asda planning application now history, and doubts over whether we will ever see a supermarket on Chadwick Street, it looks like we will be stuck with the Co-op as our only supermarket for several years to come. So let’s take the Co-op at their word, and tell them what improvements we, the customers, would like to see in our supermarket. If we can make some constructive criticisms and comments on this forum, the Co-op might take them on board. And, who knows, we may end up with a supermarket on our doorstep that we really want to visit!
So what changes and improvements would we like to see in our Co-op? Personally, I would like to see better stocked shelves. How often do we go in and find empty gaps instead of the items we want? There are also quite a few items - not necessarily at the exotic end of the scale - which the Co-op doesn't stock at all. For a big supermarket shop we have to go out of Marple to either Bredbury or Hazel Grove for the best chance of coming home with all the items we need.
So how do you think the Co-op compares with, say, Morrisons in Bredbury or Sainsburys in Hazel Grove? What would you like the Co-op managers to do to bring the Co-op up to their standards? They’ve asked for our opinions, so let’s tell them!
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It's very telling that your first request is that they should stock their shelves. Shouldn't this be an absolute minimum for any retail enterprise?
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Close it.
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I've spent a very frustrating half hour trying to do the survey, was putting the world to rights about what they should and shouldn't do and about half way through it appeared to go back to the start. I carried on and there was a mix of the questions I'd already had but some that I hadn't seen before, so I continued for another 15 minutes but then it all crashed with this screenshot as the final result and all my wise advice has been lost.
Now I get this error even if I try to start again. Tragic!
Anyone managed to do it all the way through?
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Good post, Henry, and I agree that those of us who like to whinge about the Co-op should take the opportunity to tell the organisation what we think, in a constructive way. I've done the online survey, but, I have to confess, with little confidence that it will make a difference as far as the Co-op in Marple is concerned.
Henry asks:
So how do you think the Co-op compares with, say, Morrisons in Bredbury or Sainsburys in Hazel Grove?
The reality is that there is no comparison. Someone on this forum recently described the Marple Co-op as 'a glorified convenience store', and that sums it up. It is much smaller than Morrison's or Sainsbury's, it has a limited range of products and higher prices across the board. Which is why we all vote with our feet (or should I say our wheels) and do our supermarket shopping elsewhere. As I wrote on another thread recently, we are spending about £27 million every year at supermarkets outside Marple - far more than we spend at the Co-op.
Tinsley writes 'close it', but if that happened (and the Co-op nationally is in such disarray that nothing can be ruled out), I'm not sure a 'proper' supermarket chain would be interested in taking the site - they may regard it as too small. We might get a Tesco Metro or Sainsbury's Local, but they are even more expensive than the Co-op......... :o
So I fear Henry is depressingly correct when he writes:
With the Hibbart Lane Asda planning application now history, and doubts over whether we will ever see a supermarket on Chadwick Street, it looks like we will be stuck with the Co-op as our only supermarket for several years to come.
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I've spent a very frustrating half hour trying to do the survey, was putting the world to rights about what they should and shouldn't do and about half way through it appeared to go back to the start. I carried on and there was a mix of the questions I'd already had but some that I hadn't seen before, so I continued for another 15 minutes but then it all crashed with this screenshot as the final result and all my wise advice has been lost.
Now I get this error even if I try to start again. Tragic!
Anyone managed to do it all the way through?
Yes took me about three quarters of a hour . It's slow you have to wait for next page try again it could be busy time .like you say repeats itself .they do get your email at the end and a chance to win a telly yippee . Big deal
I used this to get on giving these out in the coop this afternoon .wwwhaveyoursay.coop . Don't know if you went this way .should be a dot after www.
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I did the survey this morning, it took around twenty minutes and didn't crash. Found it a bit repetitive, and some of the questions a bit limited, like they were leading me down a particular route, but it's definitely worth having your say. And yes, I've a vested interest as I used to work for the cooperative group before they split the bank off, but the new boss does seem to have the expertise, and drive, to get the coop to pull its socks up so give them a chance.
Alison
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I did the survey this morning, it took around twenty minutes and didn't crash. Found it a bit repetitive, and some of the questions a bit limited, like they were leading me down a particular route, but it's definitely worth having your say. And yes, I've a vested interest as I used to work for the cooperative group before they split the bank off, but the new boss does seem to have the expertise, and drive, to get the coop to pull its socks up so give them a chance.
Alison
. Times running out . We need change .for marple .
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Completed the survey - no probs and it took about 20 minutes. As I have said before, I do appreciate the ethical stance of the Co-Op and hope it can get back on track.
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I've spent a very frustrating half hour trying to do the survey, was putting the world to rights about what they should and shouldn't do and about half way through it appeared to go back to the start. I carried on and there was a mix of the questions I'd already had but some that I hadn't seen before, so I continued for another 15 minutes but then it all crashed with this screenshot as the final result and all my wise advice has been lost.
Now I get this error even if I try to start again. Tragic!
Anyone managed to do it all the way through?
I completed it in about 20 minutes (mostly thinking time) and I got the error message at about 79% but followed the instructions and was able to resume where I'd left off.
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I did the survey this morning, it took around twenty minutes and didn't crash. Found it a bit repetitive, and some of the questions a bit limited, like they were leading me down a particular route, but it's definitely worth having your say. And yes, I've a vested interest as I used to work for the cooperative group before they split the bank off, but the new boss does seem to have the expertise, and drive, to get the coop to pull its socks up so give them a chance.
Alison
Repetition is standard in this sort of survey. It's a way of sorting the sheep from the goats.
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Thank you Henry,
I will try and complete the survey. It wouldn't be fair to complain about the Co-op and then disregard the opportunity to tell them what we're unhappy about.
I have to say though that what is wrong with the Co-o in Marple ( annual turnover is I understand £12m) is so blatantly obvious that it smacks of such absolute desperation and complete ignorance that they should need to ask somebody else and one is tempted to say ....'Don't they even know that?'
It would be better for Marple now if the Co-op left town altogether and a proper retailer rode in - it doesn't matter which one they are all better than the Co-op corner shop.
I'm tempted to say that perhaps we should not go in it at all and bring the whole situation to a head.
I'm even tempted to say that perhaps MIA should resurrect itself and campaign for our Councillors to get a move on with Chadwick Street but then we only get the traffic that comes with it.
Yes the whole supermarket issue in Marple is without doubt a vexed question and may yet be the death of us all.
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The lack of products on the shelves is due to human error in the store, I have seen a few colleagues, but not many in the co op using the telxon scanners ( the zapper guns you see people with ) , on this you can generate more stock, change the capacity of the shelves so that more items come into store etc, you should also be able to generate an order to come in the next day etc, increase the following order by 10 percent etc should an item be selling fast .... All items that have no stock , the bar code should be scanned daily to tell the central system there is no stock there , or to change the quantity of stock on the system if it is not showing correct ( this can be down to general public stealing items ) also items showing low stock should be scanned and an order generated sooner rather than later to prevent a product gap at all .
This lack of items isn't down to the " Co op " as such, but the people who work there , or the lack of people adequately trained to use the telxon on the shop floor and complete the process of using it correctly from start to finish.
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I'm even tempted to say that perhaps MIA should resurrect itself and campaign for our Councillors to get a move on with Chadwick Street but then we only get the traffic that comes with it.
Who, MiA (Marple inaction :-)? Campaign for something positive? Not their style...
RH.
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I have to say though that what is wrong with the Co-o in Marple..... is so blatantly obvious that it smacks of such absolute desperation and complete ignorance that they should need to ask somebody else
I think we need to appreciate that this survey is not actually about what is wrong with our beloved supermarket. It's about the whole massive Cooperative Organisation - the food stores, yes, but also the funeral service, the bank, the insurance company, the travel agencies, the pharmacies, etc etc.
And above all it's about the politics of the organisation, and notably whether it should continue to provide financial support of up to £1 million per year to the Cooperative Party (which is in effect a branch of the Labour Party).
So sadly, I doubt whether this survey will have any effect at all on the Marple Co-op. :(
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Thank you Dave for pointing that out to those of us that didn't understand the bigger picture.
For my part the only aspect of the Co-op that I am really interested in is the Supermarket in Marple.
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hello Dave, the intention of my original posting wasn't actually to encourage Marple folk to fill in the Co-op survey. It was to encourage them to vent their feelings publicly about what improvements they would like to see in their local Co-op supermarket. As noted by others, the official survey is all about the wider aspects of the Co-op movement - donations to political parties, corporate governance and so on. I am more interested in finding fresh veg on the shelves when I want it rather than telling them how I think the Co-op Movement should conduct its wider affairs.
In my first posting I was picking up on the original (brave!) comment of the Co-op’s chief executive where he admitted they had not listened to customers in the past and wanted to put that right. So I thought if we listed all the shortcomings of the Co-op, and made constructive comments on how the Co-op could improve its Marple supermarket, the Co-op might actually take note. I am sure the Co-op management monitor online blogs/forums/comment about their supermarkets. If not, I am sure the local management of the Co-op supermarket read this forum and will pass on our comments to their bosses. So let’s make some constructive criticisms of their Marple supermarket in this public arena, and hope the Co-op takes notice and makes much-needed improvements!
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hello Dave, the intention of my original posting wasn't actually to encourage Marple folk to fill in the Co-op survey. It was to encourage them to vent their feelings publicly about what improvements they would like to see in their local Co-op supermarket. As noted by others, the official survey is all about the wider aspects of the Co-op movement - donations to political parties, corporate governance and so on. I am more interested in finding fresh veg on the shelves when I want it rather than telling them how I think the Co-op Movement should conduct its wider affairs.
In my first posting I was picking up on the original (brave!) comment of the Co-op’s chief executive where he admitted they had not listened to customers in the past and wanted to put that right. So I thought if we listed all the shortcomings of the Co-op, and made constructive comments on how the Co-op could improve its Marple supermarket, the Co-op might actually take note. I am sure the Co-op management monitor online blogs/forums/comment about their supermarkets. If not, I am sure the local management of the Co-op supermarket read this forum and will pass on our comments to their bosses. So let’s make some constructive criticisms of their Marple supermarket in this public arena, and hope the Co-op takes notice and makes much-needed improvements!
A few of us have been doing this for a few years .they haven't listened yet ...
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Thank you Henry,
I think that you'll find that most of us understood exactly what you were trying to do which was exactly as you said. When you've been on this forum as long as I have you will come to know that Dave is a very; perceptive, courteous, eloquent and intelligent poster.
Except when it comes to the issue of the 'Marple Supermarket. Whereupon he often attempts to make you a watch when all you've actually asked for is the time.
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Thank you Henry,
I think that you'll find that most of us understood exactly what you were trying to do which was exactly as you said. When you've been on this forum as long as I have you will come to know that Dave is a very; perceptive, courteous, eloquent and intelligent poster.
Except when it comes to the issue of the 'Marple Supermarket. Whereupon he often attempts to make you a watch when all you've actually asked for is the time.
Actually, I assumed he meant fill in the survey to tell Co Op bosses our gripes about Marple CoOp.
Whinging about it (again) on an internet message board isn't going to actually change anything - or else it already would have.
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SO DID I.
PROBABLY NOT BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.
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the intention of my original posting wasn't actually to encourage Marple folk to fill in the Co-op survey. It was to encourage them to vent their feelings publicly about what improvements they would like to see in their local Co-op supermarket.
Yes, re-reading your post I can see that now - my apologies for misunderstanding it.
However, I wish I could share Henry's optimism here:
I am sure the Co-op management monitor online blogs/forums/comment about their supermarkets. If not, I am sure the local management of the Co-op supermarket read this forum and will pass on our comments to their bosses
I'm far from sure about that - in fact I'm pretty sure they don't monitor what's written on this forum. And if they do, there's precious little evidence that they have ever acted upon it!
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Sorry to rejoin this message thread again, it seemed to have run its course. But on tonight's TV news there is news about the Co-op Group's £2bn loss, and their plan to sell off their farms to help make up the funding shortfall. Their rival Morrisons makes big PR play out of backing Britain's farmers to give their shoppers high quality products. It seems something of a backwards step for the Co-op to sell off their farms. If they struggle to keep their shelves stocked up with fresh veg and meat when they own their own farms, then imagine how they would struggle without that guaranteed supply line of farm produce! I don't want to be seen as a negative Co-op basher. It just seems to me that as the Co-op supermarket has a monopoly situation in Marple, with no prospect of an alternative supermarket coming into Marple any time soon - then if we can encourage them to improve their service to us, the customer, then both the Co-op and its shoppers will benefit as a result.
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I admire Henry's optimism, and I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but the impression I get is that the Co-op is a huge monolithic top-down organisation in which branch managers have little autonomy or 'empowerment'. So the prospect of we local Co-op customers somehow bringing about an improvement in our branch through local action is improbable, to put it mildly, because even if the branch management noticed and wanted to respond, the way the organisation works would prevent it.
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The people of Marple have been denied a decent Supermarket by certain peoples ego's.
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If Tinsley is referring to the Marple councillors, I can't see where their egos come in to it. They will no doubt have believed (however mistakenly) that they were doing the right thing - what's egotistical about that?
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Nothing to do with councilors.
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That's interesting. Who are these egotists, then? Marple in Action? Marple Business Forum?
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Take your pick.
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I think we need to appreciate that this survey is not actually about what is wrong with our beloved supermarket. It's about the whole massive Cooperative Organisation - the food stores, yes, but also the funeral service, the bank, the insurance company, the travel agencies, the pharmacies, etc etc.
And above all it's about the politics of the organisation, and notably whether it should continue to provide financial support of up to £1 million per year to the Cooperative Party (which is in effect a branch of the Labour Party).
So sadly, I doubt whether this survey will have any effect at all on the Marple Co-op. :(
I do try and avoid the co-op because of it's political donations. Horrible, Horrible people.
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Take your pick.
If you can't be bothered answering properly then why should anyone care what you say? If you think it was driven by ego rather than nimbyism then explain who you think it was.
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If you can't be bothered answering properly then why should anyone care what you say? If you think it was driven by ego rather than nimbyism then explain who you think it was.
Good point there Howard .
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My wife doesn't shop in Helen Wintersons anymore.
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My wife doesn't shop in Helen Wintersons anymore.
Neither does mine but we were the opposite of you in that we didn't want the Hibbert Lane supermarket here. Make your point without the cryptic clues.
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So your happy with the co-op.
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Not really. I like their ethical stance but their pricing is too high and logistics management is poor. However, our opinion was that an Asda on Hibbert Lane wasn't the right option.
Now that I've answered, please explain whose egos prevented an Asda on Hibbert Lane because all you've done is make vague noises which seem to imply some sort of conspiracy.
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I can assure I don't make vague noises. All these people saying they don't want this and they don't that.We have finished up with nothing. Quite sad.
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I can assure I don't make vague noises. All these people saying they don't want this and they don't that.We have finished up with nothing. Quite sad.
And whose fault do you think it is .that the Hibert lane fiasco was scraped .
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Listening to the unelected mouth people of marple. Quite sad. End of story and I do run a business in marple.
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I can assure I don't make vague noises. All these people saying they don't want this and they don't that.We have finished up with nothing. Quite sad.
Thought so. Nothing of any substance to say.
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All these people saying they don't want this and they don't that.We have finished up with nothing. Quite sad.
Indeed. But that had little to do with egos. On the contrary, if anything I think the opponents of the Hibbert Lane scheme may even have been suffering from a lack of egotism, in that they were without the self-confidence and vision to see that Marple could and should be a 'proper' town, with all the facilities which go with that, including a modern sixth form college and a proper supermarket, and that these things need not necessarily drive good local shops out of business.
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I was undecided at the time but having reflected I now think a large supermarket on Hibbert Lane would not have been a good thing for Marple.
I don't really understand the comment about 'egos' or 'unelected mouths.' It was the Councillors that stopped the Hibbert Lane Asda. In the end they were the only ones who had the power to do that. The rest of us were on the side-lines. As far as ego is concerned I don't think that ego came into it and we certainly can't call them 'unelected.'
I don't actually think that we have heard the last of the supermarket issue in Marple so all these comments that support that theory I believe are very premature.
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Come on who got the councillors involved. The pressure group MIA speaking for everybody in Marple. I certainly didn't want Mr Hoyle speaking on my behalf.
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For a town this size (and it is a town, not a village) we really do need another supermarket - but NOT on Chadwick Street. The traffic chaos that would cause doesn't bear thinking about. However, bleating on about it isn't going to get us anywhere, and unless somebody comes up with an alternative site, people will still go out of Marple to shop, or buy online.
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For a town this size (and it is a town, not a village) we really do need another supermarket - but NOT on Chadwick Street. The traffic chaos that would cause doesn't bear thinking about. However, bleating on about it isn't going to get us anywhere, and unless somebody comes up with an alternative site, people will still go out of Marple to shop, or buy online.
Unfortunately Barbara, now that Chadwick St has planning consent, an alternative site has little or no chance of success in planning terms. The Councillors have managed to preserve the status quo for 3-5 years - unless they manage to tempt someone into spending some significant cash on developing the CS site.
I'm torn between wanting something to happen (I agree Marple does need a decent supermarket), but like yourself I'm not a fan of the CS site.
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now that Chadwick St has planning consent, an alternative site has little or no chance of success in planning terms.
True - but not for ever! As I'm sure Belly knows, government planning guidelines state that planning consent for edge-of-town supermarkets should be refused where a town centre site is 'available, suitable, and viable'. If a couple of years go by without any retailer taking the Chadwick Site, it will be pointed out that although the site may be available and, arguably, suitable, self-evidently no retailer regards it as viable. At that point, an edge-of-centre application could succeed.
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Come on who got the councillors involved. The pressure group MIA speaking for everybody in Marple. I certainly didn't want Mr Hoyle speaking on my behalf.
Tinsley are you new to the area?
Marple Councillors were involved with a potential supermarket issue on Hibbert Lane long before MIA had even been invented.
There had been rumours about a Supermarket on that site as far back as 2007 and the Council was involved then. They've had somebody on The College governing body for years they've even got somebody on it now although its not a MARPLE Councillor.
I suspect that there were as many people that were pro supermarket as there were anti, its just that the anti weren't very vociferous. Even if they had been it wouldn't have made any difference to the Council. The decision would have still been the same.
Marple Councillors just DONT WANT A SUPERMARKET ON HIBBERT LANE.
So whether you are pro or anti it's Councillors that stopped it - not MIA or anybody else.
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Lived in Marple for 40 years. Some people will say I'm new to the area. Since we are not getting a new supermarket, we do all our shopping in Poynton.
Drive to New Mills to for a news paper and then back to the Office in Marple. Councillors stand for self interest and expense's. Just short of a million pounds in the last financial year.
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True - but not for ever! As I'm sure Belly knows, government planning guidelines state that planning consent for edge-of-town supermarkets should be refused where a town centre site is 'available, suitable, and viable'. If a couple of years go by without any retailer taking the Chadwick Site, it will be pointed out that although the site may be available and, arguably, suitable, self-evidently no retailer regards it as viable. At that point, an edge-of-centre application could succeed.
Hence the 3 - 5 years point Dave.
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Did the survey and was frank.
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Lived in Marple for 40 years. Some people will say I'm new to the area. Since we are not getting a new supermarket, we do all our shopping in Poynton.
Drive to New Mills to for a news paper and then back to the Office in Marple. Councillors stand for self interest and expense's. Just short of a million pounds in the last financial year.
That sounds a very small amount to me to be running a multi million pound business
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Lived in Marple for 40 years. Some people will say I'm new to the area. Since we are not getting a new supermarket, we do all our shopping in Poynton.
Drive to New Mills to for a news paper and then back to the Office in Marple. Councillors stand for self interest and expense's. Just short of a million pounds in the last financial year.
Why don't you buy your newspaper in Marple and support the local newsagent?
You seem to make a lot of assertions without any substantiation. How do you know this about Councillors? There are 63 of them in Stockport and 6 in Marple. How many of them do you know. Have you ever met any of them?
Where is the self interest in being a Councillor - explain yourself.
The last time I looked Councillors got paid less than £10,000 per year by my calculations that's probably not even enough to run your office.
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Is there any way that the traffic conundrum can be solved if there was a supermarket on Chadwick Street?
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Yes - by demolishing at least two shops on the corner of the Stockport Road/Trinity Street junction, thereby opening up direct two-way road access, plus ample pavement access on both sides, from Stockport Road through to the supermarket car park.
This is, of course, entirely hypothetical, because obviously there is not now going to be a major supermarket on that site.
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Is there any way that the traffic conundrum can be solved if there was a supermarket on Chadwick Street?
Build a bigger car park. I suspect that the traffic might not be quite as awful as some fear. But parking has the potential to be a disaster and one that will directly influence existing local businesses.
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The 'traffic conundrum' to which Simone refers is, I believe, the issue of congestion on Church Lane and lower Hibbert Lane, and at the Hibbert Lane/Stockport Road junction. Surely making the car park at Trinity Street bigger will exacerbate that problem, rather than solve it?
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In a parallel universe, the Co-op Group becomes so desperate to free up cash that they look to their real estate and see they're sitting on a pile of money with the Marple store, sell it and a new supermarket completely redevelops the site with a bigger store and multi-storey/decked parking. This is not so far-fetched - a large number of Tescos and Sainsburys have been rebuilt on the same site or nearby in recent years. The Co-op occupies a "huge" site, in Marple terms, but it's very inefficient for a town centre supermarket design, with a big delivery yard, woeful car park and that row of relatively useless shops which any meaningful supermarket chain would have knocked through into the main store years ago.
Meanwhile here we are, having to discuss which parts of our town to plough through elsewhere in order to fit a decent supermarket in.
Worth noting Marple remains on Aldi's hitlist, who only need small plots. I really hope they find somewhere, as they'd be the absolute death knell to the Co-op. Chadwick Street as planned would probably be too expensive, but you never know, if they're that keen to get into the town...
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Why don't you buy your newspaper in Marple and support the local newsagent?
You seem to make a lot of assertions without any substantiation. How do you know this about Councillors? There are 63 of them in Stockport and 6 in Marple. How many of them do you know. Have you ever met any of them?
Where is the self interest in being a Councillor - explain yourself.
The last time I looked Councillors got paid less than £10,000 per year by my calculations that's probably not even enough to run your office.
Correct. The Leader gets the most about £38k that includes the basic allowance of 10k so the actual salary for want of a better term for the leaders roles is about 28k. Further its not a role you could have and have a full time job as well.
This is really big money we are talking about isn't it.
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Wheels. Thank you.
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This is, of course, entirely hypothetical, because obviously there is not now going to be a major supermarket on that site.
That's another one I shall keep and remind you of Dave.
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....and as you see, I said it 40 years ago: 'Quote from: Dave on June 02, 1974, 06:39:48 AM'. :o
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Lived in Marple for 40 years. Some people will say I'm new to the area. Since we are not getting a new supermarket, we do all our shopping in Poynton.
Drive to New Mills to for a news paper and then back to the Office in Marple. Councillors stand for self interest and expense's. Just short of a million pounds in the last financial year.
Only 40 years? You are but a newcomer. My Father came to live in Marple aged 6, in 1926. Shortly before he died in 1997 an old school friend informed him that he (my Father), wasn't "a real Marple person". Father had lived and worked in Marple for 71 years, apart from his war service!
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Only 40 years? You are but a newcomer. My Father came to live in Marple aged 6, in 1926. Shortly before he died in 1997 an old school friend informed him that he (my Father), wasn't "a real Marple person". Father had lived and worked in Marple for 71 years, apart from his war service!
How silly. Do you really believe that someone who has not had the get up and go to move around and experience various communities and life style should have a greater say than the person who arrived yesterday.
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I think that one went by you wheels...
::)
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I think that one went by you wheels...
::)
Perhaps I should have added a smiley face, just to make it clear. ;D
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OK apols if irony was the intention. Just a bit of a thing of mine I have never understood why living in a place for long periods is regarded as a good thing.
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What now for the coop .now they have voted not for change .
Topic merged with old co-op thread. Howard
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I'm with rsh:
the Co-op Group becomes so desperate to free up cash that they look to their real estate and see they're sitting on a pile of money with the Marple store, sell it and a new supermarket completely redevelops the site with a bigger store and multi-storey/decked parking. This is not so far-fetched - a large number of Tescos and Sainsburys have been rebuilt on the same site or nearby in recent years. The Co-op occupies a "huge" site, in Marple terms, but it's very inefficient for a town centre supermarket design, with a big delivery yard, woeful car park and that row of relatively useless shops which any meaningful supermarket chain would have knocked through into the main store years ago.
If the Co-op goes bust and a proper supermarket chain takes over the site, it could be very good news.
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A proper supermarket, someone's bound to object.
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"If the Co-op goes bust and a proper supermarket chain takes over the site, it could be very good news."
My understanding is that Marple is now a no go area for all the main supermarket chains & the pull out of the one well known brand who might have come is why the Kirkland project folded. Whilst this plus the Asda episode were going on all the town centres around us have been busy getting their own schemes off the ground making any future new Marple supermarket scheme less viable. Perfectly possible I'm wrong of course but I have a nasty feeling we will see a procession of supermarket delivery vans coming in & cars heading out of Marple to find cheap petrol for the next decade at least
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"If the Co-op goes bust and a proper supermarket chain takes over the site, it could be very good news."
My understanding is that Marple is now a no go area for all the main supermarket chains & the pull out of the one well known brand who might have come is why the Kirkland project folded. Whilst this plus the Asda episode were going on all the town centres around us have been busy getting their own schemes off the ground making any future new Marple supermarket scheme less viable. Perfectly possible I'm wrong of course but I have a nasty feeling we will see a procession of supermarket delivery vans coming in & cars heading out of Marple to find cheap petrol for the next decade at least
I still think ASDA will take over the coop there is plenty of room for development if they go towards the fire station .i don't mean by this take over the fire station . ......
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we will see a procession of supermarket delivery vans coming in & cars heading out of Marple to find cheap petrol for the next decade at least.
In other words, things will simply go on as they have done for several years. Yes, that's almost inevitable now, of course.
However, this bit of corium's post puzzles me:
Whilst [the Kirkland scheme] plus the Asda episode were going on all the town centres around us have been busy getting their own schemes off the ground making any future new Marple supermarket scheme less viable
There are several supermarkets in other places not far from Marple -Hazel Grove, Whaley Bridge, Bredbury, Hyde, Glossop etc - but they have all been established for several years. Where are all these places which have been 'busy getting their own schemes off the ground' during the past two years while the failed Hibbert Lane and Chadwick Street schemes have come and gone?
However, corium's conclusion is surely right - that we are now probably not going to get a proper 25,000 sq ft. supermarket in Marple. And one of the reasons has little to do with Marple: if you read the business pages in the newspapers, they are full of stuff about how the major supermarket chains are reporting declining sales and profits, and the analysis suggests that this is mainly at their traditional 'big box' stores. Online sales are OK, the smaller convenience stores (Tesco Express etc) are doing OK, and the 'niche' chains (Aldi, Lidl, M&S, Waitrose) are also doing OK. Now we have blown it with the Hibbert Lane Asda, the only realistic prospect, IMO,would be an Aldi or M&S on Chadwick Street.
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Or both as in Hazel Grove
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Why do people keep going on about M&S food supermarkets and Waitrose, saying Marple needs one.
Surely one of those would make the the co-op look like a thrifty option.
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It's called quality. Service with a smile and let's not have a conversation with a there'd party at the check out.
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Why do people keep going on about M&S food supermarkets and Waitrose, saying Marple needs one.
Surely one of those would make the the co-op look like a thrifty option.
Sensible comment blue neither of them offer anything to a predominantly working class suburb like Marple
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Sensible comment blue neither of them offer anything to a predominantly working class suburb like Marple
Now you're just trolling.
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Why do people keep going on about M&S food supermarkets and Waitrose, saying Marple needs one.
I didn't say Marple needed either of those, all I said was:
Now we have blown it with the Hibbert Lane Asda, the only realistic prospect, IMO,would be an Aldi or M&S on Chadwick Street.
...my point being simply that those would typically be small enough to fit within the limited area of the Chadwick Street site.
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Now you're just trolling.
Not at all Howard. Genuine comment
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Not at all Howard. Genuine comment
In that case you're deluded unless you consider "working class" to mean "people with jobs". Marple is one of the most middle class areas you could possibly imagine. There are couple of areas that might be considered exceptions to that classification, mostly around Manchester's overspill council estates. Other than those, Marple is full of middle class professionals and many retired people who are ex-middle class professionals.
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It's called quality. Service with a smile and let's not have a conversation with a there'd party at the check out.
Yes agree there .
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Marple is full of middle class professionals and many retired people who are ex-middle class professionals.
This is indeed borne out by the following information from the 2011 census, taken from the localstats website:
The top occupations listed by people in Marple South are Professional 20.2%, Associate professional and technical 13.5%, Managers, directors and senior officials 13.2%, Administrative and secretarial 13.0%, Skilled trades 11.4%, Administrative 9.6%, Caring, leisure and other service 8.6%, Corporate managers and directors 8.3%, Sales and customer service 7.6%, Business and public service associate professionals 7.3%.
The top occupations listed by people in Marple North are Professional 27.4%, Managers, directors and senior officials 14.8%, Associate professional and technical 14.6%, Administrative and secretarial 11.5%, Corporate managers and directors 10.4%, Skilled trades 9.2%, Teaching and educational professionals 9.0%, Teaching and Educational Professionals 9.0%, Administrative 8.2%, Business and public service associate professionals 8.1%.
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Please not the class system.
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Dave asks
"There are several supermarkets in other places not far from Marple -Hazel Grove, Whaley Bridge, Bredbury, Hyde, Glossop etc - but they have all been established for several years. Where are all these places which have been 'busy getting their own schemes off the ground' during the past two years while the failed Hibbert Lane and Chadwick Street schemes have come and gone? "
I've heard (& as I said I may be wrong) that a number of new schemes will become public knowledge this year
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If you read the Co-op group's dismal 2013 interim report at
http://www.co-operative.coop/Corporate/PDFs/Interim-Report/2013/Interim_Report_2013.pdf (http://www.co-operative.coop/Corporate/PDFs/Interim-Report/2013/Interim_Report_2013.pdf)
you find that the only part of the business that is thriving is Funeral Care. Is there a faint irony here?
Time to give a better supermarket a run in Marple, I think.
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Given the average age profile in Marple, we had better keep the Funeralcare business! :(
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In that case you're deluded unless you consider "working class" to mean "people with jobs". Marple is one of the most middle class areas you could possibly imagine. There are couple of areas that might be considered exceptions to that classification, mostly around Manchester's overspill council estates. Other than those, Marple is full of middle class professionals and many retired people who are ex-middle class professionals.
I will get you the ward profile showing there is very little difference between many parts of inner Stockport and Marple indeed in many issues those areas score more highly in terms of educational achievement, property ownership etc. Your deluded if you think Marple is anything other than a very average suburb of Stockport.
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All ward profiles available on www.mystockport.org.uk
Sorry, couldn't add the link
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I will get you the ward profile showing there is very little difference between many parts of inner Stockport and Marple
Well, for wheels' benefit, here are the equivalent stats for the two most central Stockport wards:
The top occupations listed by people in Edgeley and Cheadle Heath are Professional 16.3%, Associate professional and technical 13.0%, Administrative and secretarial 12.6%, Sales and customer service 11.0%, Caring, leisure and other service 10.9%, Skilled trades 10.5%, Elementary 10.1%, Administrative 9.9%, Elementary administration and service 9.1%, Caring personal service 8.0%.
The top occupations listed by people in Brinnington and Central are Elementary 18.0%, Elementary administration and service 15.8%, Sales and customer service 12.3%, Caring, leisure and other service 12.2%, Skilled trades 11.6%, Process, plant and machine operatives 11.4%, Administrative and secretarial 9.9%, Sales 9.2%, Caring personal service 9.1%, Professional 8.9%.
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There is a very simple indicator that will tell you everything you need to know when comparing Area A vs Area B - the house prices.
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As always Dave you seek to deliberately mislead
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Going back to supermarkets getting plans off the ground, after Offerton (and Romiley, Hazel Grove, Glossop, ...) yet another new Aldi is now due to begin construction in Chapel-En-Le-Frith, next to the bypass. The town already has a Morrisons in the centre and Tesco isn't far away.
http://www.buxtonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/councillors-to-decide-on-new-aldi-store-in-chapel-en-le-frith-1-6262365
Marple really will be the only place without one soon.
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OK apols if irony was the intention. Just a bit of a thing of mine I have never understood why living in a place for long periods is regarded as a good thing.
::)
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Click and collect has now been scraped at marple just using the outside to park there van for home deliveries .
No wonder there in the state they are . Cost over ten grand to set up .computers alone ....
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Amazon's thread merged with the old one to keep the co-op topics together. Howard
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Click and collect has now been scraped at marple just using the outside to park there van for home deliveries .
No wonder there in the state they are . Cost over ten grand to set up .computers alone ....
Computers can be redeployed and reused anywhere in the co-op organisation. If click and collect isn't being used in Marple then they'll reuse the infrastructure somewhere else that will use it.
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Meanwhile, not far away...
http://www.alderleyedge.com/news/article/9421/waitrose-to-acquire-the-co-operative-store
A proposal like Chadwick would be perfect for the Co-op site and good for Marple in general, with a larger car park on top of a larger rebuilt store, or visa versa. Sadly I doubt they'll give up on their Marple monopoly so easily.
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Very interesting. The Alderley Edge Co-op is a relatively large one, like ours - a supermarket rather than a convenience store. I read somewhere that the Co-op, in attempting to turn round its ailing business, is considering disposing of some or all of its larger supermarkets and concentrating on the smaller convenience stores. So perhaps there is hope........
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I haven't time to read all this thread but fail to see how any other brand would do much better on the hollins site. There's no extra space to get a bigger store, the car park is too small anyway, and the produce is acceptable. I'd love a whacking great 24/7 store on my doorstep but you can't have everything.
I didn't move to Marple for a Tesco or Waitrose or Booths. I didn't move to Marple for Co-op but I'm happy to use it. And call me naive but it's better to keep the faith in a genuine co-operative than a greedy corporate monster?
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I haven't time to read all this thread but fail to see how any other brand would do much better on the hollins site. There's no extra space to get a bigger store
Actually the entire site, including the row of small shops next door, (charity shop, estate agent etc), plus the huge delivery yard at the back, is quite big, but it's inefficiently designed. A 'proper' supermarket company taking over the site would probably demolish and rebuild, creating a much larger retail area.
And call me naive but it's better to keep the faith in a genuine co-operative than a greedy corporate monster?
Naive, maybe, and also admirably idealistic - but we are paying through the nose for it, Co-op prices being consistently higher than the other supermarkets. And the quality is variable, and the shelves are poorly stocked. That's why most Marple residents do their supermarket shopping elsewhere.
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Dave I think saying 'most' residents do their shopping elsewhere is rather over-stating the case.
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On the contrary, if anything it is understating it! The evidence is all in here: http://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/documents/s25234/FINAL%20Marple%20Foodstores%20Report%20-%2022%2001.pdf
That is the report which some consultants prepared for Stockport Council last year, analysing the Hibbert Lane and Chadwick Street supermarket proposals, and assessing their potential impact. It identified a total of £27 million per year being spent by residents of Marple at supermarkets in Stockport, Hyde, Bredbury, Hazel Grove, Glossop and Whaley Bridge, compared with about £11 million at Marple Co-op! If you scroll down to para 4.12 you can see the breakdown, but to save others the hassle, here it is:
the Sainsbury’s store in Hazel Grove (£6.8m);
the out-of-centre Morrisons at Bredbury (£5.5m);
the Tesco store at Whaley Bridge (£5.2m).
the Tesco store at Wren Nest Road in Glossop (£2.6m);
the out-of-centre Tesco store at Tiviot Way (£2.4m);
the ASDA store in Stockport (£1.7m);
the ASDA store in Hyde (£1.6m); and
the Sainsbury’s store in Stockport (£1.1m).
We vote with our feet (or rather, our wheels!)
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I haven't time to read all this thread but fail to see how any other brand would do much better on the hollins site. There's no extra space to get a bigger store, the car park is too small anyway, and the produce is acceptable. I'd love a whacking great 24/7 store on my doorstep but you can't have everything.
I didn't move to Marple for a Tesco or Waitrose or Booths. I didn't move to Marple for Co-op but I'm happy to use it. And call me naive but it's better to keep the faith in a genuine co-operative than a greedy corporate monster?
There is plenty of room at the back the store area was made smaller when they refurbised a few years ago .
Keep the faith with what .empty shelves stupid prices . Victorian shopping .
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I haven't time to read all this thread but fail to see how any other brand would do much better on the hollins site. There's no extra space to get a bigger store, the car park is too small anyway, and the produce is acceptable. I'd love a whacking great 24/7 store on my doorstep but you can't have everything.
I didn't move to Marple for a Tesco or Waitrose or Booths. I didn't move to Marple for Co-op but I'm happy to use it. And call me naive but it's better to keep the faith in a genuine co-operative than a greedy corporate monster?
Bravo for your last sentence.
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;)
Bravo for your last sentence.
Victorian thinking . Let's bring Horse and carts back it deliver the milk . >:(
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There is plenty of room at the back the store area was made smaller when they refurbised a few years ago .
Keep the faith with what .empty shelves stupid prices . Victorian shopping .
Amazon, do you actually use the co-op on the Hollins on anything approaching a regular basis?
There is advantage to being a member. As I do most of my main shop there on Friday I have been getting vouchers for my next shop. So far they have paid for my Christmas booze! In addition there have been some really good savings on things I buy regularly and I haven't found shelves empty of what I want for a long time. (The last time was when they ran out of treacle and oatmeal just before bonfire night - probably due to demand at that time of the year).
The co-op organisation is heavily into fair trade and treats its suppliers both in Britain and abroad properly and doesn't browbeat them into accepting less for their products than it costs to produce them (cf the Tesco milk scandal). I'm happy to pay a few pence more for my bananas and chocolate if it means the growers can afford to feed their children and send them to school.
The staff are polite, helpful and friendly (of course it helps if the customer is polite and friendly too!) and there when you want them - not something you can say about some other supermarkets. The store is clean and easy to navigate. The parking is free and the store is central to other shops in Marple.
And their own bread is amongst the best in town.
What's not to like?
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;)Victorian thinking . Let's bring Horse and carts back it deliver the milk . >:(
As a horse owner, I can't endorse that. It was a very hard and short life for working horses back then and no-one who knows and loves them would want them to go back to that.
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Amazon, do you actually use the co-op on the Hollins on anything approaching a regular basis?
There is advantage to being a member. As I do most of my main shop there on Friday I have been getting vouchers for my next shop. So far they have paid for my Christmas booze! In addition there have been some really good savings on things I buy regularly and I haven't found shelves empty of what I want for a long time. (The last time was when they ran out of treacle and oatmeal just before bonfire night - probably due to demand at that time of the year).
The co-op organisation is heavily into fair trade and treats its suppliers both in Britain and abroad properly and doesn't browbeat them into accepting less for their products than it costs to produce them (cf the Tesco milk scandal). I'm happy to pay a few pence more for my bananas and chocolate if it means the growers can afford to feed their children and send them to school.
The staff are polite, helpful and friendly (of course it helps if the customer is polite and friendly too!) and there when you want them - not something you can say about some other supermarkets. The store is clean and easy to navigate. The parking is free and the store is central to other shops in Marple.
And their own bread is amongst the best in town.
What's not to like?
I don't shop anywhere else . Apart from Iceland and Morrisons. Sometimes .archers for the best bread .muffins exelent . Strange you were only criticising the coop a few months ago you could not obtain what you wanted .i think you went to Morrisons .
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And you meet all the best people in the Co-op - especially checking out the bargain counters!! ;D
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There is advantage to being a member. As I do most of my main shop there on Friday I have been getting vouchers for my next shop.
The vouchers they have recently introduced for members are a welcome development - typically £5 off if you spend over £40, a discount of over 10%. But it's not really much of a saving when you realise that is 10% off prices which are across the board higher than the other supermarkets, which are themselves slashing prices and putting on similar deals for regular shoppers, such as the schemes currently on offer at Tesco and Morrisons.
What's not to like?
Well, the figures speak for themselves: we spend £27 million a year at supermarkets outside Marple, and £11 million at the Co-op. Something must be wrong!
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And you meet all the best people in the Co-op - especially checking out the bargain counters!! ;D
Like it the damaged goods right at the back near the empty freezers ..... :D
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I don't shop anywhere else . Apart from Iceland and Morrisons. Sometimes .archers for the best bread .muffins exelent . Strange you were only criticising the coop a few months ago you could not obtain what you wanted .i think you went to Morrisons .
One occasion only - the treacle and oatmeal issue. Since then I have had no complaints. I see no point in making a life-long judgment based on one experience only. I have been impressed with the Co-op's service since.
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The vouchers they have recently introduced for members are a welcome development - typically £5 off if you spend over £40, a discount of over 10%. But it's not really much of a saving when you realise that is 10% off prices which are across the board higher than the other supermarkets, which are themselves slashing prices and putting on similar deals for regular shoppers, such as the schemes currently on offer at Tesco and Morrisons.
Well, the figures speak for themselves: we spend £27 million a year at supermarkets outside Marple, and £11 million at the Co-op. Something must be wrong!
When I lived in Hyde I shopped at Morrison's as the store was only about 100 yards from my house. I also used the market as there were good fresh food counters. I only use Tesco in an emergency, despite passing the store in Glossop at least 5 times a week, because I don't like their ethics (or lack of them) and, in the main, the floor staff are a waste of time, although I sometimes buy petrol there when it's convenient to me. I don't use Asda anywhere because I find the stores scruffy and badly organised, the merchandise isn't very good quality and the American parent company has an appallingly exploitative employment record. I sometimes use Sainsbury's, M&S food stores and Aldi if I'm passing but they aren't very convenient. But why spend the money that I'd "save" by shopping in any of them on the petrol to get there when I pass the Co-op two or three times a day? Swings and roundabouts.
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Actually the entire site, including the row of small shops next door, (charity shop, estate agent etc), plus the huge delivery yard at the back, is quite big, but it's inefficiently designed. A 'proper' supermarket company taking over the site would probably demolish and rebuild, creating a much larger retail area.
Perhaps, but would it make the car park any bigger?
And as a matter of interest, were Co-Op responsible for building the existing store?
Naive, maybe, and also admirably idealistic - but we are paying through the nose for it, Co-op prices being consistently higher than the other supermarkets. And the quality is variable, and the shelves are poorly stocked. That's why most Marple residents do their supermarket shopping elsewhere.
I'm not being naive in expecting to have to pay a little more in a collective where extra efforts are made to ensure there is fair trade and better ethical standards in the supply chain. That's what Co-Op is all about, surely? And before you talk about prices being higher for goods across the board, doubtless that's because Tesco and the like drive hard, ruthless bargains with suppliers to beat the competition, and don't always worry about ethics.
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would it make the car park any bigger?
I suspect not.
I'm not being naive in expecting to have to pay a little more in a collective where extra efforts are made to ensure there is fair trade and better ethical standards in the supply chain.
Fairtrade products are widely available - the Co-op does not have a monopoly. And I'm afraid Melancholy is probably being a bit naive about it - recent press coverage suggests that Fairtrade isn't always as fair as like to think: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/may/24/fairtrade-accused-of-failing-africas-poor
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As a local shop, the coop is OK. It's prices are a bit frightening but nevertheless, OK.