Stay loyal to help us beat Tesco, plead small shops

ANGRY traders who all run small family shops in Pimlico have organised a 300-signature petition against a proposal to open a Tesco Express store in their midst.

The shopkeepers in Lupus Street also called on their customers to stay loyal should plans for the supermarket go ahead.

Mubarak Ali, 65, owner of Greatway Food Store, which has been running for 30 years, said the traders were adamant they would "not get trampled on".

He added: "Tesco think they will squash us like ants but we do not plan to go down without a fight. My shop is my livelihood and also the livelihood of my son and my brother.

"Without this we would have nothing and, therefore, we must fight tooth and nail to keep what is ours. We can't compete with a store or company of that size and we can't beat them on price. We just have to hope our customers stay loyal."

Maria Marquez, owner of Manolos Grocers, which has been in business for 18 years, said: "The council will be overwhelmed with the level of protest so, hopefully, planning officers will listen to us. We are not stupid. We all know when Tesco moves into a street all the small businesses are destroyed. The big dogs kill the small ones."

Many local businesses said the loss of their shops would destroy the area and be a blow to the neighhourhood.

Kasif Sheikh, from KF Stores, said: "It's going to kill my business. I've been here for three years but I think I will have to close my shop because we sell similar things to Tesco.

"Supermarkets destroy the character of local communities with local shops and local people. It is a terrible shame that this will happen here."

Westminster council said it had received a planning application from Tesco to open a store on the site of an empty newsagent, a grocer and a Costcutter, merging all three premises. A council spokesman said a decision would be made next month and that residents had lodged objections, too.

A spokeswoman for Tesco Express said: "We find our stores actually tend to attract people, thereby bringing economic benefits to the area. There are plenty of examples where independent shops can exist successfully side by side with larger retailers."