POLITICIANS have been sitting on applications from French and UK supermarket groups for at least two years.
Economic Development Minister Philip Ozouf told States Members this week that he particularly favoured ‘discount’ supermarket chains, such as Aldi and Lidl but that he had not yet made up his mind which application to approve.
The sticking point is that a site must be found which will accommodate the demands of the retailer and satisfy planning requirements.
Senator Ozouf had been asked by Deputy Celia Scott Warren whether he personally favoured the idea of a ‘third’ supermarket coming into the Island to compete with the Co-op and private equity group Sandpiper. ‘I confirm that we have had an application from a French supermarket and interest from the UK too. ‘I must determine whether this is appropriate,’ he said.
Article posted on 17th July, 2008 - 3.00pm
16 Article Comments
Can this man not make up his mind and quickly! We are being ripped off by all the other supermarkets in Jersey!
…..has he shopped in either of these shops? Cheaper prices are welcome but we still want some quality.
Aldi and Lidl? Pretty obvious Senator Ozouf doesn’t want to upset the current duo-opoly, by allowing a Tesco/Asda type UK major on their patch.
Why is it up to one man? People may prefer a Tesco or a Sainsbury over an Aldi? crickey… Jersey never ceases to amaze me
Aldi & Lidl !!! ask anyone in Europe their opinion of these supermarkets and the answers would probably be unprintable, can we not have some quality where we shop?
Aldi or Lidl? Seriously? As someone who lives opposite one in Cardiff at uni, Lidl is great…for students who need cheap-as food. It won’t suit the lifestyles of the jersey population. Also the food isn’t even that tasty
It’s about time the States were more open with the public. According to this report he has been sitting on applications for two years!!!!
That is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. Are these budget chains the only ones to submit an application or have other groups such as ASDA, Tesco etc tried to break the monopoly that Sandpiper and the CO-Op have over islanders?
The current ‘ministerial’ method seems to mean that sometimes one man can make all the decisions (as long as Walker’s cronies like the decision). Frankly we would be better off getting shot of the lot. The trouble is, what are the chances of electing an effective government that is not self serving, secretive and ‘old school tie’?
Not very likely, when the present system allows the politician with the least number of votes to be selected as top dog.
I never thought I would say this, but let’s go French. Competition on price, product and culture. The people of Jersey by nature and inclination look east to their Norman roots, and cross to Brittany (St Malo) to stock up at the hypermarket. Let’s cut out the ferry trip and bring the hypermarket to Jersey. Space? Why not located new Hypermarket next to the new ferry terminal at La Collette?
I lived in Jersey for over 30 years, but now reside in Carmarthenshire, West Wales, where we have Aldi and Lidl. My own preference would be Lidl and I would dispute Mogit’s comments ; much of the food and drink is excellent and is considerably cheaper than in Morrison, Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. Lidl is definitely a favourite of pensioners and the less well off - I believe I read somewhere their merchandise is up to 20% cheaper that the Big Fours. If the States of Jersey is serious about reducing inflation, they have got to look at Aldi or Lidl.
I read Mark Le-Suer’s suggestions and thought he had some very valid points. Which is sadly why it probably won’t happen!
As usual we are used and abused by the ‘government’, who have their very own agenda, which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with our wellbeing.
Anyway, who in their right mind believes that another store won’t go the way of the other two. We seem to get ripped off all the way round on this island. Everything from Telecoms and the other utilities to the retailers who are taking advange of GST to increase prices even more, in much the same way as they did when we went decimal.
Now electricity is going up 25% because of oil?? Give me a break!
And what an insult to advise the lower paid members of our society to budget carefully when faced with such a price increase. What arrogance - what a lack of care. Marie Antoinette may well NOT have said ‘Let them eat cake’, but this government of ours certainly is saying it.
Mogit - Not at all, normally the people who say bad things about Aldi and Lidl are the sort of people who have never shopped in them.
Living now in Dorset I have an Aldi less than 5 mins away, the food quality is good and the prices excellent.
This island is too expensive for its own residents! If we are going to survive we need more competition and better value in the shops. Basic food basket become luxury - it have to change soon!
How and why do our politicians get away with it, I always thought they were supposed to be the voice of the people. Now we are supposed to be a ministerial government, surely there should be something in place to advise the public of outside interests, not just from retail but tourism and services. I agree that the closed shop of retail should be addressed but all should taxed on the same basis to give a fair playing field to all.
Having lived on the mainland for several years, I’ve used both Aldi and Lidl. And love them! Cheap, good food, and you don’t have to buy in bulk, which up to discovering these 2 shops, was the only way I could get cheap food.
It’s about time Jersey had one of these - I’ve moved back to the island late 2007, and have consistantly being saying that Jersey needs one of these shops! Come on Philip!