Like most of us here at Grocer Towers, I am not prone to reacting in horror every time Tesco spreads its wings (if we did, we’d never get any work done).
Only last year, the retailer announced plans to turn the (pretty average) pub at the end of my road into a Tesco Express. The residents’ association was outraged, as were various friends and neighbours - leaving me a lone voice suggesting that, actually, it would be quite nice to have a decent c-store at the end of the road for those evenings when you run out of wine or chocolate. Or even milk.
And I’ve not heard a complaint about the shop since it opened its doors.
But today’s announcement that Tesco has splashed out £48.6m to add Giraffe to its trophies has left me feeling a little aggrieved.
I really like Giraffe. I have good memories of dining in Giraffe with my children: a terrific meal at the Kensington High Street restaurant after a day at the museums; I even opted to celebrate my 40th birthday with a family meal at the Giraffe in Brighton (I wasn’t always that old - my 30th birthday was a very different affair).
Giraffe was quirky; my experience is limited but each restaurant I visited felt different from the others. And it’s hard to believe that one slapped onto the side of a Tesco - or even inside (now I am getting the horrors) - would offer the sort of experience I’ve previously enjoyed. And today’s talk by Tesco commercial director Kevin Grace of “developing some of the space in our larger stores to create retail destinations” conjures images of the very worst sorts of shopping malls and hypermarkets.
That said, Giraffe’s founders are staying with the business, and I would be very happy if they and Tesco prove my fears unfounded.
In the meantime, I’d be happy to bet that a product development team in Cheshunt is already studying the Giraffe menu and thinking about how it would translate as an exclusive Tesco ready meals range.
Or am I sticking my neck out?
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