One of my colleagues was chatting this week with new Booker boss Malcolm Walker who has been busy meeting customers this week ­ among them Baz Patel who runs a store in Luton. But it seems Walker was as impressed with Patel's big, posh car as he was with the retailer's "fantastic" business, which turns over £27,000 a week. "The moral of the story," Walker told my colleague, "is that all convenience store operators could afford to buy a Lexus if they shopped at Booker." On the subject of NOT wanting things, I wondered who on earth would support Buy Nothing Day, a campaign by an environmentalist group to dissuade people from the Christmas buying frenzy. Did you notice an absence of customers in your shop? In my local store, the campaign was met with complete apathy judging by the numbers shopping for the weekend. Funny thing is, the campaign's web site, www.adbusters. org, has a page for ordering books, subscriptions, a video, postcards and posters. Just in case the campaigners want to indulge in some Christmas shopping, I suppose? A weekend jaunt up to Harrogate for the Spar Retail Conference meant I was lucky enough to witness the improbable sight of Blakemore retail director Elwyn Davies and co kitted out in Dad's Army uniforms and singing We'll meet again'. That certainly improved my spirits. My spirit level was already pretty high after Friday night slumped over the Majestic Hotel bar watching Peter Blakemore and Tom Davies do the twist again to the Cavern Beatles. As Spar retailers swayed to Let it Be, one completely sober store manager assured me he was here purely for "business reasons". And who was that in the thigh high fur lined silver boots? {{COUNTERPOINT }}

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