It’s well known that the supermarket chain Tesco has been having a hard time of it recently, their profits have been cut to about £squillion, instead of their usual 0.5 £squillion. So it was no surprise that they intended to close some of their stores, however I was gobsmacked when it was announced on the Scottish news tonight that one of the stores closing is to be the Kirkcaldy one. As they were asking some customers how they felt about the news I was even more surprised to see my friend Christine’s husband on the TV saying how gutted he feels about it. I feel exactly the same, although we recently moved out of the town we still travelled to Kirkcaldy to do our grocery shopping. It’s the shop we are used to and we know the staff, and it’s also a reasonable size. I can’t stand bigger shops as I feel exhausted almost before I start – if I can’t see the end of the shop. I know it means loads of walking searching for what I want, and probably giving up on finding it altogether.
Apparently it is one of their ‘loss-making’ stores, I really can’t understand how that can be because it is the busiest supermarket which I’ve been in. It doesn’t matter when you go there are always a lot of shoppers in it. It’s the only supermarket in Kirkcaldy town centre, it’s close to the bus station so is handy for people who don’t have a car. Tesco closing means that if you don’t have a car you have to make your way to a supermarket on the edge of town, or half-way to Glenrothes, by bus.
What is more, the only Post Office remaining in Kirkcaldy town centre is located inside the Tesco store, so what is going to happen there. Are we going to be left with no Post Office in Kirkcaldy?!
The employment situation in Kirkcaldy has always been dire, in fact it’s dire in the whole of Fife and I really feel for the members of staff who are going to be made unemployed, it’s not going to be easy for them to find another job. Is there any point in starting a campaign to keep the Kirkcaldy store open? It looks like it’s a done deal, but I would like to see the evidence that the store is actually loss making, it seems hardly possible to me.
It’s just a blessing that Kirkcaldy’s famous Tesco cat popped off to cat heaven in the summer! How many supermarkets had a resident cat to greet you in the doorway? If you want to know more about him have a look at the short film below.