Small Maltese Shops Should Team Up To Counter Supermarket Threat, ADPD Deputy Leader Warns
ADPD’s deputy leader has urged small and medium shops to start pooling in their resources and form cooperatives to counter the existential threat posed to them by supermarkets.
“The number of supermarkets mushrooming across the islands is squeezing… small and medium size outlets out of the market,” Carmel Cacopardo wrote in a blog post.
“They cannot compete in terms of price and within a short time few of them will still be around unless they can group together. If they opt out of the market, our localities, will, as a result be much worse off.”
He said a co-operative framework would allow shops to pool in their resources and offer products for sale at more competitive prices.
“They can build up an economy of scale which could withstand the onslaught they are currently being subjected to,” he said.
“As a result, they can remain open for custom in our localities, contributing to their self-sufficiency.”
“We have not given sufficient weight to the cooperative model which, if properly applied in our localities, can provide a remedy to the impacts of supermarkets, possibly reducing their need.”
“Cooperatives based on the democratic participation of their members are a tool which can help us address the impacts of supermarkets on our localities. It is a realistic possibility which we discard at our peril.”
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