Thinking ahead for Jersey

Tuesday 2nd June 2009, 3:00PM BST.

AT the weekend a new and important campaign, entitled Think Twice, Buy Local, was launched under the leadership of the Economic Development Department and with the backing of this newspaper.

Its objective, of course, is to encourage Islanders to make purchases at home rather than over the internet or on trips to France – this with a view to stimulating our economy in these difficult times.

Many people will immediately see the sense of this notion, which also urges consumers to ‘recycle your pound’. Nevertheless, the launch has prompted a predictable wave of cynicism based on the idea that too many prices in the Jersey marketplace are too high. With a combination of naked self-interest but at least a measure of realism, some are asking why they should support local retailers when better deals are available elsewhere.

But this is ulimately a blinkered view. And the clue, as they say, is in the name. Buying locally is obviously at the centre of the campaign, but so too is thinking twice. Consumers are not being instructed to buy in the St Helier high street by high-handed authority; they are being asked to consider where their best interests and the best interests of the community as a whole lie before they resort to e-commerce or loading the car boot at a continental hypermarket.

Such thought involves taking the long view. Looking for the lowest price makes immediate and seemingly obvious sense, but helping to ensure that this Island remains economically active at the most basic level and preventing St Helier from becoming some sort of ghost town must also be major considerations.

To elaborate, spending locally keeps money in circulation in Islanders’ pockets, keeps businesses open, prevents job losses and helps to ensure that the Island is the vibrant place that we surely want it to be. Relentless buying online or across the water could lead to something approaching the death of the community.

There are also the issues of service, consumer protection and the ability to pick up and examine goods in person.

The accent, however, must not be entirely on the consumer. If the economy is to prosper at high street level, retailers of all sorts must also play their part – which amounts to keeping prices as low as possible and taking pains to avoid even the charge of profiteering. They, too, must realise that the writing is on the wall and that they will go to the wall if they fail to respond to competition from the shop down the road, a ferry journey away or in the increasingly important virtual world.

1
Adrian

June 2, 2009 at 9:27 pm

I think the paper are backing a dead horse here. People in Jersey are fed up with paying over the odds for the basics of life in Jersey.

Luckily the internet has come to the rescue of local consumers and enabled them to make ends meet. GST has antagonised many locals who feel let down by the government who have stood by and allowed VAT to be charged by many local businesses under the guise of import costs.

Jersey PLC unfortunately has priced itself out of the market as regards non perishable goods and will need to cut its prices drastically and improve its act before it has a chance of clawing back some market share.

Customers are always right and will not be taken for a ride. The internet is here to stay and many off line businesses will cease to exist in the near future. The numbers locally will be directly proportional to how competitive they are and how adaptable they are. At present they are failing on both scores from what I can see.

People will not pay for the priveledge of supporting local businesses if it means paying GST, VAT and then some, and who can blame them when they see the States wasting their hard earned cash on overspends, unwanted projects, suspensions, and other perceived incompetences.

I think it would be wise to think ahead to what things will be like in a few short years. From where I am standing it is going to be big changes for Jersey and not for the better.

The demographic time bomb is growing larger in the rear view mirror and will soon engulf us. Have the government got the bottle to admit they have failed and will be letting their electorate down by expecting them to work for longer, for less reward, with greater taxes placed upon them.

I believe at some stage they will be forced to change things for the working population who will be less than impressed with this latest failure to manage things in an efficient and timely manner.

I myself have no time for broken promises. I doubt others will be looking forward to longer time periods at the coal face, for less, probably with no work pension and severely erroded old age pensions and all because the present generation pays for the previous one.

I knew this was unviable in the 1970′s, how come those in charge did nothing about it? I believe they knew and I wonder if they thought they could control the situation and if not they would probably be dead by the time this became a major issue?

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2
bella

June 3, 2009 at 6:19 am

good on you adrian.
we need more like you fighting in our corner and saying it as it is.
but are they listening?
how long do they think they can go on charging these outrageous prices ?
time will tell as they say you reap what you sow and if bussnesses suffer they only have themselves to blame.

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3
J G

June 3, 2009 at 8:56 am

Hear Hear Adrian.

I agree with every single word in your comment.

Senator McClean should have started his campaign with the retailers and looking at why we pay such exorbitant prices here (non of the old ‘freight charges’ excuses), and when that is resolved move on to get us to regain our confidence in shopping local.

At the moment it just won’t happen.

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4
Adrian

June 3, 2009 at 9:25 pm

Thanks Bella it is only common sense.

JG what do you do with someone in politics who doesn’t listen?

You vote them out by voting others in. Simple but shockingly effective.

If the electorate were to do this a few times those standing for election would know that deafness would equate to removal from office at the next available opportunity.

It is therefore down to the electorate to seize the inititive and convince those standing for office that they will not put up with being ignored. One glaring example is GST. Actions always speak louder than words, is the electorate up to it?

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5
jg

June 7, 2009 at 2:28 pm

Agree. I have tried to support local businesses but whenever I give them the opportunity to quote me a sensible price I get either flippancy or rudeness. Consequently I am fed up with ‘giving them a chance’ as they have had too many already. Now that the consumer is king, the tables have turned. What retailers have failed to recognise is that short terms profits have a long term effect on Islander’s memories.

To be frank it would not bother me if some local retailers went down as this would create vacant properties and in the long term benefit the overall economy. Rents would start to reduce and opportunities would present themselves to other companies to fill the gap. New businesses would prosper, the consumer would get a better deal and Jersey would become more competitive.

I intend to continue to buy from outside the Island if it is cheaper. In the long run I am doing everyone a favour.

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6
REDVERS

June 15, 2009 at 5:28 pm

‘Think twice, buy local’ should mean exactly that;
shop at local, LOCALLY OWNED businesses and the high-minded principle enshrined in recent Island Plans of “keeping Jersey special” may have a small chance. While profiteering is certainly bad, profiting is not; it is the rationale of any trader, and the levels of profit demanded by the shareholders of multi-national concerns are generally far higher than the smaller, local concern.

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7
jg

June 18, 2009 at 10:07 pm

The proof is in the price. Ok, so I gave in and decided against my better judgement to give local retailers yet another chance. I offered a local trader an opportunity to bid for my business after finding a product far cheaper online inclusive of delivery across this ‘expensive stretch of water’. But not even a faint attempt to move the price. Not a sausage of a discount. Not even a whiff.

Someone in the UK can make a profit after sending a single item on its own across the channel – no, not in bulk with hundreds of items at once shipped over, but a single item shipped on its tod. Clearly they can make far more money than a local retailer. Something ain’t right, but who am I to argue?

It’s either margin greed or a lack of commercial acumen. Far better a sale at half the margin than none at all.

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