Going gets tough for the town’s smallest traders

THE growth of supermarkets creates hundreds of jobs both in the stores themselves and in the local community with the need for suppliers.

Their appearance hits the newspapers as a good news story especially given the loss of jobs in other areas as the economy declines.

However, what never reaches the public’s eye to anywhere near the same extent is the fallout for the smaller grocers whose custom has been decimated by their newer, larger and more than likely cheaper competitor. Often the job losses do not merit column inches as they are so small.