End of an era as last Somerfield in Bristol to shut
ONE of the last Somerfield supermarkets in the country is to close its doors for the final time later this month.
The store in the Broadwalk Centre in Knowle will close for good by the end of the month with the loss of more than 20 jobs.
The announcement is a major blow for the Broadwalk complex as the supermarket is the key store in the shopping centre.
The Cooperative, which took over the Bristol-based Somerfield just over three years ago, said the decision was taken to close the supermarket as it was not profitable enough to convert into a Cooperative store.
A spokesman for the Manchester-based Cooperative confirmed the closure yesterday. He said: "The Cooperative group can confirm that the Somerfield store in the Broadwalk Shopping Centre, Knowle, is due to close on Saturday, February 18. Staff at the store have been informed of the decision, which has been taken with the greatest regret."
He added: "The closure is due to the store's poor trading performance and is not, in any way, a reflection on the commitment and hard work of the store team. Every effort will be made to redeploy as many as possible of the five full-time and 23 part-time staff with The Co-operative Group, or to help them find alternative employment."
The Somerfield chain had its headquarters in Whitchurch and was bought by the Cooperative in the summer of 2008.
As part of the £16-billion deal the Cooperative took on 800 stores which have now all been converted, sold to rivals or in a handful of cases closed as they were not considered profitable.
The headquarters in Whitchurch closed with the loss of 800 jobs 18 months ago and the buildings have since been converted into offices.
As a result of the takeover the Co-op saw its chain of stores increased to 3,000, making it the fifth largest in the country.
As reported in the Evening Post the Co-op closed the Somerfield store in Staple Hill in the summer. The move left the Knowle supermarket the last Somerfield left open in Bristol and just one of a handful across the country.
The closure of the Knowle shop marks the end of the three-year process which saw the Somerfield brand merged with the Co-op.
Somerfield was sold just two years after it was taken over by a group of investors which included property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz .
As part of the deal the Co-op was told it had to sell some of the stores because of concerns about competition.
And as part of the multi-million reorganisation the company has also opened a huge warehouse in Avonmouth.
The complex employs more than a 1,000 people and was opened to replace the system which had been run and managed by Somerfield.
Despite the closure, the firm is still looking to expand and open more stores in other parts of the country.
The Cooperative has confirmed it is looking at 40 potential new sites.
A spokesman said: "These are exciting times for the Co-operative. Following the acquisition and integration of Somerfield we are looking to expand our estate still further.
"Our food property team is actively looking for opportunities to grow the business, by liaising with agents, landlords and developers to identify the right properties in the right locations."
A spokesman for the Broadwalk Centre did not want to comment on the closure of the Somerfield supermarket.
9 Comments
by KNIGEL
Saturday, February 04 2012, 11:03AM
“I don't think Waitrose is an option?”
by geeveeh
Saturday, February 04 2012, 9:15AM
“Somerfield was never very good and had a bit of a reputation of only being attractive to the older generations. I understand that since being "saved" by the Co-op a lot of the staff are being given managerial positions in the Co-op enterprise rather than make them redundant. There is an old saying that "everyone gets promoted into incompetence" so is the Co-op set to descend the slippery slopes like Somerfield did ?”
by snowymalone
Saturday, February 04 2012, 7:30AM
“@oddly
"The chattering classes of Upper Knowle should hang their heads in shame. This , the last medium sized supermarket in the neighbourhood, is closing due to lack of footfall. The chattering classes don't use it because " it's not very nice"..They don't like shopping amongst people who are challenged, be it financially, or because they have health issues, or different aspirations."
I have to disagree. It was our nearest supermarket for a long time (prior to the Co-op takeover) - but unless we just wanted just bread and milk we still tended to by-pass it and go elsewhere because it was always badly stocked and over-priced. No problems with the quality of stuff as such - there just wasn't enough of it. The prices got a bit better when Co-op took over, but often the shelves still looked threadbare, or massively overstocked with promotional stuff that in recent years was obviously aimed at a particular demographic. I'm not being a snob here - it was never going to be Waitrose, and nor would anyone expect it to be - but having half an aisle devoted to bumper 24-packs of Space Raiders or blue pop does suggest a desire to get a certain clientele.
Anyway, we did our best to use it for midweek, on-way-home from work, one-basket shops, but for the weekly big family one.. well, Tesco or Asda had everything we wanted, and much cheaper at that. And when you can save £40 or £50 a month by going a mile or two further, you do so, don't you?
By the way no problem with Broadwalk precinct itself - I spent much of my childhood a few hundred yards away from it, and for years it was where my own parents did their shopping (when Fine Fare ruled supreme!) - and to this day I still go there, as it is still on my way home, and I happily buy from the butcher, the greengrocer, use the chemist.. you can actually get some quite nice grub in Iceland (see - told you I'm not a snob!) - but I'm afraid Somerfield kind of sealed its own fate. And that's not the fault of the immediate locals.”
by SpinyHedgehog
Friday, February 03 2012, 3:49PM
“@bril_lil
"If the ubiquitous Tesco doesn't snap it up, it will probably become a Lidl or Aldi in no time!"
If I lived there, I'd be glad for any of them.”
by bril_lil
Friday, February 03 2012, 1:21PM
“If the ubiquitous Tesco doesn't snap it up, it will probably become a Lidl or Aldi in no time!”
by Oddly
Friday, February 03 2012, 1:19PM
“The chattering classes of Upper Knowle should hang their heads in shame. This , the last medium sized supermarket in the neighbourhood, is closing due to lack of footfall. The chattering classes don't use it because " it's not very nice".
Which translates as -
They don't like shopping amongst people who are challenged, be it financially, or because they have health issues, or different aspirations.
Moving around Upper Knowle, one sees attractive Victorian housing in silent leafy streets. The unwillingness to share even a supermarket aisle with Knowle Westers, means the entire neighbourhood lacks almost any facilties or sense of community, because the chattering classes ask nothing of where they live, or provide it with anything they aspire to - prefering to centre their "lifestyle" around a drive to a Sainsburys shed & carpark in St Philips Marsh.
It will soon be possible to drive the entire length of Wells Road, from Totterdown to the edge of Whitchurch and see almost no centres of, or focusses for, local communities. No reason to leave your door and walk anywhere & no opportunity to meet your neighbours. Thats a lot of isolated people.”
by joning
Friday, February 03 2012, 11:35AM
“A nation mourns.”
by nljack
Friday, February 03 2012, 10:30AM
“Mr Shopping centre manager should be making a statement. Very bad practice !
Surely there is demand for a supermarket in Broadwalk? I find it hard to believe that the coop could not make it work. I think the landlord of Broadwalk needs to review the centers future and what market demands there is in that location. Its a great local shopping centre, indoor, warm and friendly.”
by Romanovich
Friday, February 03 2012, 9:33AM
“"A spokesman for the Broadwalk Centre did not want to comment on the closure of the Somerfield supermarket.
Why not, surely the locals deserve to be told what plans if any are in place.”