The Trouble With Woolworth's pt.3

In Yesterday's post we looked at how the big supermarket chains, which have driven Woolworth's out of business, now have little room to grow within their existing model of large-out-of town stores and price-wars.

The supermarkets are however still compelled by the logic of capitalism to compete for an ever greater share of the market. To this end they must seek out new ways to grab customers from their rivals. One way of doing this is to make it easier for consumers to shop at their stores than to visit a competitors. For example, if you were to regularly pass a supermarket on your journey home from work you might be more inclined to shop there than make an extra journey to a rival supermarket's out-of-town store. This is the logic that is driving the expansion of supermarket chains into the convenience store market. Tesco and Sainsbury's have already made inroads with Asda now trying to make sure it does not miss the boat.

If we look again at those empty Woolworth's stores we can now see where they fit into the supermarket giants' plans. While town centres may attract less shoppers than they used to, they are still locations where people live and go to work, many others travel through them, as train and bus stations are invariably found there. As the recession bites it will become common sense for people to incorporate their shopping into their everyday journeys instead of spending extra money on travelling to the supermarket. The Woolworth's properties provide a perfect opportunity for the supermarkets to launch an assault on their rivals by securing town-centre presences in areas where their competitors dominate with their out-of-town stores.

This then, leaves the Woolworth's staff with an uncertain future. While some may get jobs where new convenience stores open, this will only happen where it benefits the strategic position of the supermarket chains. Those that do find new work in this way will find that it is on the terms of some of the most notoriously anti-union employers in the UK. Others will be left to join the rapidly growing queues for jobseekers allowance at a time when there are no jobs to be sought.

To make matters worse the Labour government, backed by cowardly trade union leaders, is launching vile attacks on the welfare state. A welfare system largely won by union organised sit-ins in an age when union leaders understood that it was necessary to challenge the rule of law in order to win victories for the workers they are intended to serve.


Tomorrow: How the Woolworth's staff can fight back...