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People’s Supermarket shuts for good

The People’s Supermarket in Cowley will be closing its doors on Sunday after nearly a year and a half of trading, following a decision made last week by its members.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting on 19 November, an “overwhelming majority of shareholders” agreed to wind up the company behind the financially beleaguered social enterprise and close its Cowley Road premises, members were told in an e-mail.

The fate of the supermarket has been uncertain for some time, as debts have eclipsed sales for a number of months. Despite fending off possible court action in September by coming to an agreement with Oxford City Council on overdue business rates, the company still owes its landlords £7,000 in back rents and another £7,500 towards a deposit on the premises, as well as debts owed to other creditors. The landlords have given the company notice that they should vacate the premises by 1 December.

A variety of factors have conspired to lead to the supermarket’s current dire financial straits: in March, a fire devastated the neighbouring Cycle King bicycle shop, and subsequent restoration work led to severely reduced foot traffic and lower sales. In addition, a generous 20% discount scheme for members who volunteered to work in the supermarket meant that the margin on many products was low to non-existent.

There have also been problems staffing the supermarket. It has been run exclusively by volunteers since August, when all paid staff were made redundant due to budgetary constraints, and in some instances volunteers could not be found for all shifts, meaning the shop would sometimes unexpectedly close, reducing trading hours and leading to confusion for customers.

Anton Saverimuttu, interim general manager of the People’s Supermarket, cited the size of the supermarket’s premises as an additional factor. He said, “As you can see, this area is far too big for what we need,” he said in an interview with Cherwell. “The rent is proportionate to a commercial property of this size. It’s just that we can’t pay the rent because the space is too much.”

Despite the difficulties, Saverimuttu underlined the fact that this closure would not be the end of the People’s Supermarket. Instead, he and other members envision a “revamp”. The e-mail sent to members following the EGM read, “[We] want to think about appropriate future formats for TPS that will allow us to pursue our core shared values of promoting locally-sourced produce, reducing food wastage and bringing people from the local community together.”

Such future formats might include a smaller location in the same East Oxford neighbourhood, as well as a new approach to the range of products sold. Until now, the supermarket has sold generic and brand-name products alongside locally-sourced fruit, vegetables, bread, and eggs, and prepared food from its “People’s Kitchen”. Saverimuttu says a future manifestation of the People’s Supermarket might focus more on local items and catering, and less on items “you can get in any supermarket”.

When asked what other lessons he has taken from the People’s Supermarket’s rocky experience thus far, Saverimuttu said: “This place is a business. You have to pay the rent, you have to pay the business rates, you have to pay all the bills. So you have to make sure that the co-operative thinking doesn’t interfere with the business. It’s got to be a business first, then a social enterprise. I think we forgot that somewhat.”

The People’s Supermarket’s last day of trading at 124 Cowley Road will be this Saturday, 30 November, when they hope to sell off the last of their perishable stock before putting the rest of the supermarket’s supplies into storage in preparation for its next iteration.

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