'Bleak future' for Manx businesses if people don't shop local

Shop owner warns of damage of 'Tesco effect'

A business owner has called on the Manx community to support local saying a supermarket’s monopoly is ‘becoming increasingly difficult to ignore’.

Abby Quirk runs Ballasalla Stores and The Quirky Teapot.

She is urging people to consider ‘the Tesco effect’ when shopping saying the loss of customers using smaller businesses is having an impact.

In a post on Facebook she wrote: "We need to talk about the Tesco effect.

"This isn’t about telling people where they should or shouldn’t shop. We all have budgets, busy lives and families to feed, and sometimes a supermarket is simply the easiest or cheapest option.

"But since Tesco took over the monopoly, the effect on local small businesses is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

"For a small business, losing a few customers a day doesn’t sound dramatic. But those few coffees, lunches, newspapers, pints of milk, loaves of bread or last-minute bits soon add up.

"Small businesses don’t have huge margins to absorb that loss."

Abby, who ran unsuccessfully to represent Arbory, Castletown and Malew in September's General Election, told John Moss supply issues are also causing issues: 

Manx Radio has invited Tesco to respond.