Supermarkets are selling us out

Supermarkets are selling us out

Feb 19 2008

The Times of London takes aim at the monolithic chain stores and questions if they even offer good "value", whether it be for food, clothes or books:

"These days, how you decide to shop defines you as much as how you choose to dress. We treat supermarket shopping as though it were a nonchoice, but it is as acute an ethical decision as anything else. This is illustrated in microcosm by the big four supermarkets’ sale of books. They choose only a handful of titles a year and sell them at such a vast discount that they have effectively closed down scores of independent booksellers – lovely shops run by people who care about books – because booksellers simply can’t compete on price. Supermarkets often sell books cheaper than the wholesalers: I know independent bookshops that bought their copies of last summer’s Harry Potter from the supermarket because it was the cheapest option.

And there you have it. We like the words “cheapest option” and we think it’s what we want. But is it really? “Cheapest option” means no bookshops, no butchers, no fishmongers, no bakers. It means no fruit and veg shop, no cafe, no chemist and Starbucks in their place. It’s not much of an option at all."

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