Sir; re Budgens opening its first Budgens Local fascia store. At first I thought the idea of small store retailers jumping into bed with their supermarket rivals was one of the most stupid ideas I have ever heard. I mean, who would want to be a franchisee? You have no real say in how your business operates, particularly in choosing what it sells and how it prices. If I had wanted to be a McDonald's franchisee, I would have opened a burger bar not a CTN cum convenience store. And why would I want to work as nothing more than a store manager for one of the supermarket chains? But the more I thought about it, the more I have come to realise that this is the only way that a lot of retailers will be able to survive in the future. As the big boys continue to get bigger, and continue to squeeze small operators out of the market, life is only going to get tougher. As a franchisee you will get better terms, be able to sell a better range of fresh and chilled foods, and benefit from having a nationally recognised retail brand above your front door. No doubt the symbol groups would disagree with all of that. But if they, and other wholesalers, were doing such a fantastic job, why would anybody want to sign up as a Budgens Local? Or, for that matter, agree to buy stock from the likes of Somerfield and Sainsbury. Clearly they are offering something the existing players cannot. Even though it may be a good idea, I have no intention of sleeping with the enemy, however, as I'm retiring! I've put my shop up for sale and it's even been featured in your property pages! Anonymous {{LETTERS }}

Topics