11:50am Thursday 4th December 2008
By Echo Reporter
BRIDPORT’S main shopping streets are set to be radically changed forever, a leading retail analyst has claimed.
He said the town centre will see numerous takeovers within the next few months – including fixed-price stores such as Poundstretcher moving in.
Both the sell-off of troubled Woolworths and a ruling by the Office of Fair Trading, which means the Co-op will be forced to give up one of its stores, will inevitably create huge upheaval on the high street.
This comes on top of plans already under way for German budget store Lidl to build a new supermarket on the Travis Perkins site on St Andrews Road.
Research manager Greg Hodge, of market analysts Planet Retail, said that with so much turmoil huge changes should be expected within the next few months.
He said: “Some of the Woolworths locations are very desirable and we know that Waitrose has already bought five off them. Certainly both Tesco and Waitrose are interested in the higher end of the market.
“If Bridport is to get a Lidl than it is unlikely to appeal to another discount store such as Aldi. The town already has a Morrisons and a Co-op, the OFT decision means that a third supermarket will also enter the market to replace Somerfield.
“In that case if Woolworths, as looks likely, does close down that is not going to be a very attractive prospect for yet another supermarket because the town would not be able to support it. There would be too much competition. What could happen instead is that a Wilkinsons could move in or a fixed-price store such as Poundstretcher or a 99p store.”
The Co-op has so far refused to reveal its plans and an OFT decision on which town’s stores should be sold as a going concern had been due in October but, to date, has still not been finalised.
But it is thought that Co-op is considering selling off its own St Andrews Road store. In doing so it would still hold on to a prime town centre spot – which also has the advantage of larger floor space.
The December 18 planning meeting to decide on the Lidl plans has been postponed in order for all the plans and paperwork to be finalised, said a district council spokesman.
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