Credit Crunch

Following my post about the credit-crunch-defying success of the Booths chain of supermarkets, I saw some less happy news on the BBC website the other day. Mercer's of Blackburn (a sells-everything ironmonger and hardware store) looks like it will cease trading after 150 years in Blackburn.
Somehow, this hits a bit harder than the news about Woolies. Perhaps because it's an independent business, and perhaps because I have memories of shopping there when I worked in Blackburn.
It really is an archetypal, old-fashioned shop that you used to find in every town. Following the rapid expansion of DIY superstores, I can't imagine there are many left.

Booths supermarkets

We do the vast majority of our shopping in Booths - click here for a BBC story about the northern chain of supermarkets.
We don't shop there for the price - it is more expensive than the others - we shop there because of the emphasis on quality local produce and small scale customer service.
When we were in there the other week, we saw a young sales assistant walking round the store with an elderly lady and her shopping list, helping her to find all the products she needed. I can't imagine any of the 'big 4' routinely offering a service like this.