Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 15: Page 1.
Whats On page 10
Derbyshire officers assist West Yorkshire Police to make an arrest in South Derbyshire The county’s police officers have been supporting West Yorkshire Police during their investigation into a serious incident in Huddersfield on March 11.
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Business page 36
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Golfing Holidays page 62
Independent discount retailers booming in East Midlands
“The threat to supermarkets from local independent discount stores could be as great as the threat from Aldi and Lidl” Independent discount retail in East Midlands is undergoing a boom to rival that of large chains such as Aldi and Lidl, according to a new survey by specialist wholesaler Rowan.
Yesterday afternoon armed officers arrested two men near the Co-op store in Hatton, South Derbyshire. One man, aged 34, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and a 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. Two women, aged 37 and 27 respectively, were later arrested at an address in Hatton, also in relation to assisting an offender. All are now in custody in West Yorkshire. Superintendent Tracy Harrison, who was in charge of the operation, said: “The arrests took place without incident. No-one was injured and no members of the public were involved. “I would like the local community to know that the arrests were not linked to any suspected activity or offences in Derbyshire. We have increased patrols in the area to reassure the public after what was very unusual activity in the village.”
The poll of 2,000 UK adults found that 68.46 per cent of people, living across the East Midlands now shop in independent discounters – More than three quarters of whom (83.15 per cent) say they will continue to use the retailers even if their personal financial circumstances improve. Independent discounters’ customer base spans all UK demographics, with 35.38 per cent of shoppers educated to degree level and above making regular visits to their local independent. James Russell, Rowan’s commercial director, said: “It’s no secret that Aldi and Lidl have grown recently – they are big chains, so this gets noticed. However, their smaller rivals have also boomed, but this has slipped under the radar. Arguably the growth of British independent discounters is the more significant trend across the UK and more specifically in the East Midlands.” Most of the UK’s discount stores are either independent, or part of a small chain. In 2013,
companies that operated nine or fewer stores ran 3,468 of the nation’s discounters – more than three times the number of Aldi and Lidl shops combined. James Russell said: “Unlike Aldi or Lidl, independent discounters tend be on high streets, so are ideally-placed to benefit from the new trend of customers shopping around rather than buying all their goods in one weekly supermarket visit. At the same time, they are beginning to stock more popular brands, and stock them consistently. Put together, this means more customer visits, and increased customer trust. “Anecdotally, the companies we deal with who are experiencing the strongest growth are not the giants; they are the smaller, more entrepreneurial firms who have realised there is a discount boom and are using the flexibility afforded by their size to respond to it in a clever way. “The threat to supermarkets from local 99p stores could be as great as the threat from Aldi and Lidl.” When asked why they shopped in independent discounters, 44.44 per cent of customers said “the shopping experience has become better,” while 64.44 per cent argued “the products the shops sell are becoming better and more relevant to me.”
Police ask for public’s help as part of Hathersage robbery investigation Police ask for public’s help as part of Hathersage robbery investigation
Police are appealing for information as part of an on-going
investigation into a bank robbery in Hathersage. At around 9am on Thursday, February 20 an armed robbery took place at The Royal Bank of Scotland on Main Road, Hathersage. Two men threatened staff
with a silver hand gun and a crowbar before making off with a substantial amount of money. Officers have been distributing flyers and making house-tohouse enquiries, they would like to speak to anyone who used their mobile phone between 9am and
9.05am on Thursday, February 20 to support the investigation. To speak to your local policing team call 101, the non-emergency number for Derbyshire police. To report a crime anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.