nickshanagher

I was passing a branch of Waitrose in London last week and as I glanced through the front door I saw this excellent floral display. How inviting it looked. How many independent retailers can match that? (Vim Odedra is one, having been at his Canvey Island Nisa Local.) But at least, you may say, people will know this is a multiple retailer and they may like a local shop. Not if you proceed to read the marketing on the shop’s windows, which I reproduce in full: “The first Waitrose branch in Gloucester road was opened in 1912. It was part of a small chain of specialist food shops founded eight years earlier by grocers David Taylor, Wallace Waite and Arthur Rose. “After Mr Taylor left the firm in 1906, the remaining two partners combined their surnames to produce the name Waitrose. “The original branch traded for 76 years and was thought of locally as Kensington's village shop. It ran a popular home delivery service and many customers called in every day. “Back in 1...