After 85 years, family grocer is squeezed out by German giants
IT was a family business that had served the local community for 85 years.
But then along came not one, but two, budget supermarkets and the writing was on the wall for WA Dawe & Son, greengrocers.
The shop has been forced to close after Aldi and Lidl both opened stores in the same street.
The greengrocer had been in the Dawe family since the 1930s but current owner William Dawe says he just can’t compete with the two German discount giants. On Saturday he closed for the last time.
Business took a turn for the worse when Lidl moved in just 300 yards down the road more than ten years ago, but it was finally killed off when Aldi opened half a mile away on the opposite side in December last year.
Mr Dawe said: ‘It is sad because we have been here for so long. I could see it coming but I didn’t think it would come to this so soon. I can’t compete with supermarket prices any more, especially the budget stores.
‘People prefer the convenience of 24/7 supermarkets. And the younger generations don’t eat much fruit and vegetables.’
There were no supermarkets anywhere near the original greengrocers when it opened in Stroud Road, Gloucester, in the 1930s.
Mr Dawe’s father Bill left school aged 14 to work at the shop and when he married sweetheart Bessie in 1952, they took over the store.
The shop was knocked down in 1987 to make way for a relief road so the business moved to its current location in Bristol Road.
Mr Dawe’s father died ten years ago but his mother worked alongside him until very recently.
He said: ‘It has been a real family business and it has been the three of us for all those years. I am grateful to all the loyal shoppers who have supported us over the years.’
After Lidl’s arrival more than a decade ago there was fierce opposition when Aldi announced plans to open half a mile away. The two rivals are now within 0.6miles of each other on Bristol Road – with Mr Dawe’s shop in between.
Fellow independent shopkeeper Debbie Griffin, whose family have run nearby Griffin’s Friendly Corner Shop for almost 90 years, said she was sad to see the family firm go. She said: ‘The supermarkets should be more considerate. It goes to show that they even affect people who have been here so long.’
Gloucester Chamber of Commerce president Mark Boyce said more and more family firms across the country were being forced out by chain stores. He said: ‘We are seeing family businesses closing down in lots of places.’ An Aldi spokesman said the company declined to comment. Lidl did not respond to a request for comment.