Mark Ritson on branding: Tesco fuels survival of the fittest

Mr McLister is the latest in a long line of local retailers who suddenly
turn from capitalism to conservatism when faced with new national
competition. His defence of 'unique shops' is not based on consumer
interest or town planning, it is driven exclusively by self
interest.

There is a word for men like McLister - hypocrites. He is a part-time
capitalist. Happy to profit by extracting value from his strategic
advantage when it suits him. But, when faced with a bigger competitor,
such as Tesco, he turns conservationist.

The person missing from McLister's argument is the one who counts - the
consumer. What do Ballycastle residents want? On that subject, McLister
and his fellow conservationists are silent. If they argue that the
locals would not prefer the wider ranges and lower prices that Tesco
would bring, he risks inviting the supermarket to enter the market and
prove him wrong. If he argues that some consumers would welcome a Tesco,
he shows himself in his true light - a shopkeeper that wants to keep his
store at the expense of the best interests of his customers.

The Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association that backed
the petition is no better. Pointing out that the proposed Tesco shop
would have generated annual turnover of £16m for the supermarket
chain, as opposed to the existing £12m turnover that Ballycastle's
businesses make, it concluded that the new store would decimate existing
retailers. Not true. In the suburbs of most towns Tesco has entered, you
still find independent retailers. It's true there are fewer shops after
a Tesco opens, but the ones that remain have found a niche, offering
local products and great service.

The shops that vanish after a Tesco arrives are, invariably, the ones
that overcharged, or offered bad service, or did not provide the best
products.

That's the wonderfully callous thing about capitalism - the weak fail,
the strong survive, customers get more of what they want, and the world
improves. If you don't like this system, stop being a retailer and join
the National Trust. But don't make money one day from customers, and
then the next, claim heritage, employees or aesthetics as your
motivation.

'If Tesco want to come to Ballycastle then why not set up one of their
smaller stores in the town centre? The Co-op did it over a decade ago
and they are ticking away nicely like the rest of us. Why can't Tesco do
the same?' asks one anonymous retailer.

The answer is Tesco doesn't see retailing as a happy oligopoly in which
everyone makes a profit and nobody competes with each other. That would
be a disaster. Innovation is stymied, value is lost, and consumers lose
out.

Tesco understands that you have to start every day by aiming to destroy
your competitors. I know that sounds heartless, but it is the ultimate
implication of customer orientation.

We marketers have room in our heart only for one love - the consumer.
Screw everyone else. I want to win your customers by offering something
better. When shopkeepers and local governments get in the way and uphold
the status quo, they do a disservice to themselves, the consumers and
the communities they represent.

30 SECONDS ON ... TESCO DISPUTES

- Last week, the Office of Fair Trading referred the grocery industry to
the Competition Commission for further investigation, having found that
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons had the power to 'distort
competition'.

- Tesco, whose share of the UK grocery market is about 31%, has 10
stores on London's Fulham Road alone. In the row over dominance, it has
come under the most fire because of its land bank.

- Last month, the commission ordered Tesco to stop developing a former
Co-op site in Slough, which is close to a 100,000 ft2 Tesco store.

- The Tescopoly Alliance (www.tescopoly.org), whose members include
Friends of the Earth and the Small and Family Farms Alliance, acts as a
resource for local campaigners.

- The All-Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group predicted in a report
last year that independent convenience stores were unlikely to survive
by 2015.