Marlborough’s new supermarket- Tesco V Sainsbury’s?

Marlborough is buzzing with word that now Sainsbury’s as well as Tesco are submitting a planning application for a Marlborough store.

It is understood that Wiltshire Council has decided to delay the planning decision on the initially controversial Tesco store, which had been due next Thursday. It is thought that they will now discuss both applications on March 18th.

For details of the plans Tesco submitted to Wiltshire Council, following Marlborough Town Council’s official position of “No objection”, see this month’s Chamber News from Marlborough Chamber of Commerce.

Peter Davison, President of Marlborough Chamber of Commerce said today,

“Before Tesco announced its intention to come to the town, there was a lot of ill feeling amongst traders to the potential of an out-of-town supermarket in Marlborough. 

However, following meetings between Tesco consultants and local businesses, many of the initial fears were allayed, not least that a large Tesco would directly compete with the High Street retail offering in sectors such as electrical and kitchenware, stationery, photographic, and clothing. 

I suspect that, as.....most of the community relations work has already been done by Tesco, Sainsbury's is proposing a store the same size as Tesco (15,000 sq ft), selling no non-food / grocery produce on a site immediately adjacent to the proposed Tesco site, and providing no direct competition to the existing High Street businesses. 

If both stores are built, Sainsbury's and Tesco will be fighting it out among themselves for business. They are both chasing the 33 percent of the SN8 1 market and 66 percent of the SN8 2, 3 and 4 market that Tesco researchers suggest do their supermarket shopping outside of Marlborough.”

More news tomorrow when we will have more information and comments from Sainsbury’s.