Traders fear sales fall during Sainsbury's construction

7:00am Sunday 7th February 2010

By James Nadal

TRADERS close to the soon to be closed Waitrose store fear “months of potential chaos” when the Sainsbury's redevelopment takes place.

Work on Sainsbury's new store in West Street is expected to begin in early summer but could take months or even a year to complete.

Worried shop owners expect the closure to knock down sales with fewer customers walking past their stores.

Nikki Williams Gray, owner of clothes retailer Nikki's, in West Street said: “Having had a shop opposite for 25 years I think to not have a supermarket for potentially 18 months is not going to be good for Marlow.

“I think the extra traffic, lorries, construction work is not going to be good for West Street.”

Mrs Williams Gray, who was Marlow Chamber of Trade's first first female president in the early 1990s, said: “I think it's a shame that we're losing Waitrose as a position because it's a lovely shop to shop in.

“I'm sure Sainsbury's will be lovely when it arrives but I think we'll have 18 months of potential chaos.”

She added: “It's the time frame of an empty supermarket at the top of the High Street and West Street, it will be interesting whether our rates will be reduced as a shopkeeper but I'm sure we won't be getting any compensation.”

Richard Glover, 42, Marlow Bottom, shop manager at Trademark in West Street, said: “ I think it will be a bad thing, particularly for the independent traders in the town.

“We are bang opposite, in a prime position and some of our largest sales have come from people standing at the checkouts over there, so it's definitely a good site for us.

“The trouble is when people get into habits they sometimes don't go back to their previous habits.

“If people particularly like Waitrose and go to shop in somewhere like Beaconsfield they might decided let's shop in that town, so it's definitely a worry.”

Elias Kheir, owner of Cedar Coffee Shop in West Street, said: “It's going to affect the business because people coming shopping to Waitrsoe come in here before and after going there.

Becky Simmons, manager at Bump and Baby in West Street, said: “It could affect trade and in the current climate it's not good.

Conversely, Waitrose's switch to its new site in Liston Road could benefit shopkeepers only yards away from West Street, Spittal Street shop owners say.

Adam Marlow and Tish McDonald, co-owners of oriental boutique Mekong, said having a new supermarket nearer to their store will increase footfall and benefit businesses in their sector.

Miss McDonald said it was a relief that at least one big supermarket would remain in the town.

Before Waitrose announced its new development at the vacant Chapel House offices, Marlow faced a period of having no large food stores.

Miss McDonald said:“We potentially could have lost a lot of people who would have travelled to other supermarkets outside the town and they might not have come back.”

Mr Marlow said: “We are really glad they're moving because it's closer to our shop.

"We're glad we're keeping Waitrose and we're gaining another supermarket and also we're glad there's not going to be a gap even when they're refurbishing the site.”

However, Mr Marlow, the retail spokesman for Marlow Chamber of Trade, said he sympathised with fellow businessmen in West Street.

“Once Sainsbury's is open I'm sure they'll be happy, it's a bigger store and will draw more people in but it's a long time in business for people,” he said.

“When they agreed their rents there was Waitrose there and now there's going to be nothing.”

Sainsbury's spokesman Paul Vicary said:"Sainsbury's is looking forward to developing and occupying the West Street store as soon as possible, although various legal agreements need to be completed before formal planning permission is granted and a construction programme and start date is finalised."