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Acrylic-bob · 16-07-2005, 14:55

I got my copy today in ASDA. Yes I know I have criticised them in the past as the Spawn of Satan and the death of High Street retailing but, where else do you get books now that most of the independants are closed?

Anyway, inside the front cover is printed the retail price, £16.99. ASDA, Tesco and Morrisons have been indulging in a mini price war over this item. Originally Tesco announced they were going to offer it for £7.99 then ASDA trumped them by shaving a penny off, then Morrisons shaved another penny off, and finally ASDA had to shave a further penny off, to £7.96. Then along comes Kwik Save and offers it as a loss leader for £4.99! OK the shopper benefits in the short term but, in the long term, you can say goodbye to the delightful pastime of browsing through the shelves of a really good bookshop along with breadth of choice and specialist knowledge and advice.

For an independent bookshop this sort of publishing event would have helped keep the shop open for another couple of months. Now it is just another weapon in the war for dominance between the big four supermarkets. Britain may be saving money on Harry Potter but, it is much poorer today than it ever has been.

16-07-2005, 14:55	#23
Acrylic-bob God Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tragic Conn Posts: 4,007 Blog Entries: 15 Liked: 3 times Rep Power: 2473	Re: It's Harry Potter day... I got my copy today in ASDA. Yes I know I have criticised them in the past as the Spawn of Satan and the death of High Street retailing but, where else do you get books now that most of the independants are closed? Anyway, inside the front cover is printed the retail price, £16.99. ASDA, Tesco and Morrisons have been indulging in a mini price war over this item. Originally Tesco announced they were going to offer it for £7.99 then ASDA trumped them by shaving a penny off, then Morrisons shaved another penny off, and finally ASDA had to shave a further penny off, to £7.96. Then along comes Kwik Save and offers it as a loss leader for £4.99! OK the shopper benefits in the short term but, in the long term, you can say goodbye to the delightful pastime of browsing through the shelves of a really good bookshop along with breadth of choice and specialist knowledge and advice. For an independent bookshop this sort of publishing event would have helped keep the shop open for another couple of months. Now it is just another weapon in the war for dominance between the big four supermarkets. Britain may be saving money on Harry Potter but, it is much poorer today than it ever has been. __________________ Enough is ENOUGH Get Britain out of Europe Last edited by Acrylic-bob; 16-07-2005 at 14:57.