An Aldi supermarket could reduce Jempson’s central Rye store’s turnover by 37% according to independent analysis released on August 19. The same day consultants working for Jempson’s claimed the reduction could be as much as 50%.
A decision on the Winchelsea Road development is expected soon, however it is not on the agenda for next week’s Rother District Council Planning Committee meeting, due to take place on September 4.
The lower figure comes from a report written by Nexus Planning analysing retail and town centre planning policy issues on behalf of Rother District Council (RDC). It concludes that while there would be “a clear adverse impact upon the health of Rye town centre” the greatest impact would be on Jempson’s Rye store.
The report also says the £2.84 million reduction in turnover would lead to fewer “linked trips” to the town centre. Of course, this could be outweighed by the advantages of a second store — including much-needed competition and lower food prices.
A crucial factor in the upcoming planning decision may be car parking arrangements at the proposed Aldi store. It appears that if RDC decides to approve the new supermarket, conditions could be imposed on the use of its car park. In effect, Aldi would need to allow customers to park for a reasonable length of time to enable them to visit other services or shops in town.
“We consider that the issues are finely balanced and will be influenced by the weight that is placed on the key factors … by the local authority,” the report said. These issues include strong community support for an Aldi and the potential to reduce trips to supermarkets far from Rye, such as Hastings and Tenterden.
In light of their analysis, the consultants claimed there were “three potential outcomes” for Jempson’s Rye store: closure, downsizing and / or reduced investment, or continuation of the current store.
The report agreed that a significant number of people use Jempson’s as part of a “linked trip” with other parts of the town centre and that any trade diversion from the store could have an impact on the town centre as a whole.
Smaller convenience stores in Rye could see a 9% reduction of turnover by 2027 if Aldi enters the town, the report suggested.
Meanwhile, also on August 19, Jempson’s consultant Peacock & Smith (P&S) submitted a fifth letter to RDC and now claims the incumbent supermarket would lose almost 50% of its trade to Aldi. This figure is much higher than the projected 31% turnover loss claimed late last year.
Aldi’s edge-of-town location would mean fewer people walking to the main town shopping area and would predominantly attract car users to the new store, P&S asserted.
The consultant also said Aldi usually required a community with a population of 15,000 to support a new store, which raised questions about where its business would come from and its impact on Rye town centre. It claimed a halving of Jempson’s turnover would “lead to a significant decline in the number of shoppers visiting the rest of the town centre”.
However, some argue this doesn’t appear to have occurred in Hawkhurst (population 3,683), where Tesco and Waitrose coexist and where Jempson’s used to operate a grocery store (occupied by Waitrose since 2016).
Neither reports assess the retail impact of online shopping.
The Nexus report appears to represent one of the last “outstanding matters” in the complex planning jigsaw for the Aldi supermarket, retirement accommodation and 16 private homes on the Winchelsea Road site.
A planning decision by RDC is expected very soon.
Image Credits: Nick Forman , David Worwood .
The predicted “clear adverse impact on the health of Rye town centre” exactly mirrors what happened to the Silverhill area of Hastings when Asda opened a large supermarket there.
A formerly buzzing part of the town is now a wasteland of empty shop buildings and neglect. It took less than 18 months from Asda opening for all the other, long-established shops to close, as Asda’s “everything under one huge roof” policy obliviated the need for customers to visit the other shops in the area.
Much as the people of Rye would appreciate cheaper shopping, do they really want to see Cinque Ports Street, Jempsons and the High Street become a desert of empty, boarded-up premises?
Aldi doesn’t sell art, craft supplies, clothes, records, and isn’t a restaurant or cafes etc, so I don’t agree with your opinion. It is only a threat to Jempsons, who are overpriced in comparison, and that’s a fact.
You’re wrong. Everywhere else, this is precisely what happens to high streets. Footfall goes steadily down as does the number of visits. Then shop sales decline and very soon shops are closing and are replaced by charity, vape or Turkish barbers shops, some of which only survive by nefarious means.
Do you think this is a gamble worth taking just to get your groceries a bit cheaper?
I can’t afford to shop at jempsons. I drive to Aldi in Hastings instead.
If the council was really serious about car parking for tourists, then out-of-town park and ride schemes work extremely well in future proofing infrastructure and public transportation systems whenever introduced. Imagine that. And how about a reward schemes for locals who don’t bring their car to ALDI.
As an out-of-towner coming in on the bus, my current route is FIRST to visit the high street, side streets, galleries, boutiques, cafe/cafes, maybe meet a friend, and THEN head down to Jempson’s if a supermarket shop is on the agenda as well. Or it might be a walk down to Aldi and catch the bus home from there rather than the bus station. Rye centre would certainly continue to benefit from my custom whichever supermarket I chose to shop in.
Competition is never bad and Jempsons/ Morrisons will respond accordingly if Aldi are allowed to open.
I, like many Rye people, drive to Ore for selected items, but still shop most days in Jempsons.
Talk of boarded up shops in the High Street is scaremongering. The thousands of visitors to Rye aren’t interested in Jempsons, except to express amazement that there are no supermarkets open on Sundays!
Tears for Supermarketers. If profits were down it would proove we need another Surpermarket.
I don’t live in GB anymore but I am still staggered by the endless drive to preserve overpriced Jempson’s monopoly. And what about the advantage to the surrounding villagers not having to drive to supermarkets further away?
Keep it local – say NO to Aldi
Some actual competition for Jempsons could actually improve a rather awful monopoly store – Say YES to Aldi.
All these people who supposedly drive out of Rye to do there shopping, just wondering where they buy their fuel?
Paul who lives in Silverhill is quite entitled to his opinion on the impact of Asda there,but let’s remember there was very little shops there on this gateway into Hastings and St Leonards, Rye with its thousands of visitors a month is a difference propersition,and would have know effect on the town centre, and surrounding streets
Jempson`s never complained when the Premier store open just round the corner from them
My biggest worry about this Aldi is the parking. When I went to the initial consultation, it was quickly apparent that the proposed Rye Aldi would be substantially larger than the one in Ore, with fewer parking spaces per square metre of store. Will there be enough room for Aldi shoppers to park on busy days, or will they be parking on the roadside or illegally because they can’t find any other spaces? Especially if Aldi makes an effort to attract shoppers from the 10-mile radius around Rye, which I would certainly do if I were an Aldi.
Personally I would continue shopping at Jempson’s, especially if they eventually realize that dumping the partnership with Morrison’s and their low-quality food and returning to decent brands is the way forward. There is room in Rye for an upscale supermarket located just opposite a station that disgorges hundreds of tourists every hour. If the locals turn away from Jempson’s, why not turn away from the locals and offer something different and delicious to both day visitors and AirBnBers?
Talk of boarded up shops in the High Street if Aldi open is a bit confusing, just how many shops in the High Street would be affected?
Most are targeted at the tourist trade and are of no benefit to the local shopper, the days when you could do your weekly shop in the High Street are long gone and a vast majority of the residents in the town won’t even remember when it was so.
It wasn’t that long ago when Jempsons had no standing in Rye, they jumped on the band wagon when Budgens decided to sell up so this just a natural progression by another firm taking an opportunity.
I spoke to local well respected shop owner and his answer to competition was,
Raise your game………
I’m interested in what Bubbs puts forward regarding out of town park and ride schemes. The big issues are the costs involved, who pays for the schemes and where do you site the parking. We at Rye & District Community Transport have seen this solution put forward many times almost as a ‘slam dunk’ answer to parking problems and I can assure Bubbs that it’s anything but. We costed a scheme out shortly before the pandemic and even running limited hours it was going to cost £10-15,000 a year then (and running costs have increased greatly since) to run the buses and no-one wants to pay for that. And where would you site parking – please don’t suggest Rye Harbour, that has a big enough problem already. The park and ride scheme in Canterbury seems to be the most successful but all 3 car parks have something else there (eg retail park) and the fairly high cost of the coach park I think probably helps to subsidise it. Brighton long ago stopped using dedicated buses and Maidstone had issues when the land used for one of the car parks was sold for development.
With all due respect Paul, I think Rye has more of a draw than shopping at Jempsons, and a little strong competition would do Jempsons a world of good!
How could Jempson’s suddenly ‘dump’ their recently established partnership with Morrisons? The train is not daily ‘disgorging hundreds’ of people. Exaggeration is a waste of time.
So are comments that don’t address the issue.
Your reaction would have had more impact if you’d attached it to my comment, Tim, but let’s deal with the interesting bit instead. I doubt any of us on this page have actually seen the details of Jempson’s deal with Morrison’s so my remark was pure speculation, but I’ve done enough selling in my time to know that a merchant has to be creative and willing to pivot as market conditions change. I’ve noticed that Jempson’s have greatly increased the amount of shelf space given up to “grab and go” snacks and drinks in the front of their store over the last six months, which is clearly a move toward selling to the casual shopper rather than locals doing their weekly shop. Many of these items seem to be brand names or Jempson’s own brand rather than Morrisons’, which probably means they’re higher-margin items (again, only speculating as I don’t have access to sales figures). End caps also feature more expensive items, sometimes next to a Morrisons equivalent, and they’re often the ingredients of a fast meal that’s a step up from the everyday. I’m willing to bet that’s Jempsons already moving away from filling the budget-conscious family trolley in favor of offering those AirBnB guests an interesting alternative to eating out. I could be wrong, of course, but these are smart moves with so many customers getting ready to switch supermarkets. Time will tell!
Regardless of the very well-rehearsed arguments around Jempson’s, one thing that never seems to be considered is the people who work at Jempson’s… If Jempson’s suffers, they might suffer too. If Jempson’s faces uncertainty, they face anxiety and uncertainty too. And I don’t wish that on anybody. It’s worth considering them in this debate. Yes, perhaps they *might* get a new gig at Aldi, perhaps they won’t…
People don’t go to Rye for Jempsons. They go for the high street which is full of cafes, antique shops and craft shops. The high street will be fine. Let’s do something for the locals for once.
Further to my previous comment about park and ride I’ve done some totting up – our previous costing was in 2018, since when wage rates have gone up dramatically (around 50%). So running park and ride with a dedicated bus for 6 hours a day 6 days a week would cost about £30k pa in driver wages/NI, with vehicle maintenance, insurance, fuel, etc it would be somewhere north of £50k pa without the cost of the car park.
Your two comments are really interesting, Pat. Let’s imagine you’re running a park & ride from Gibbet Marsh, and let’s also imagine that Rye has been able to take over the running (and the revenue) of the car parks. How much would you have to charge for the car park to cover the cost of park and ride? I’ve seen app-based shuttle buses in a resort town in the States where the drivers make their living purely from tips; is there any hope of setting up a similarly imaginative system here? Is Salts Farm (which already has retail and food outlets and EV charging) a possible candidate for a park & ride solution?
Park and ride was turned down by Rye town council, years ago.
As a large family shopping at Jempsons is not cost effective. It is cheaper to drive to Aldi in Ore and do a weekly shop than to drive to Jempsons and do it. I think Rye is always looking to please the tourists more than its residents who are here all year round trying to “live” and not just survive.
The general view seems to be that Jempson’s are expensive, but has anyone actually ever done a like-for-like price comparison to let’s say Waitrose and Tesco? Nobody ever seems to consider the good things Jempson’s do: Their Foundation donates to a lot of local charities and good causes. They offer a very good delivery service that also enables people that are not good with computers to order. I volunteer at Rye Food Bank and remember what happened at the outbreak of the Pandemic: The big boy supermarkets did not want to know about our needs anymore, but Jempsons helped out: They stuck by the Food Bank and made sure we could still supply most essentials to those who were and are in desperate need. They deliver faithfully every single week. Thank you Jempsons! Assuming that those accusing Jempsons of being expensive have actually done their homework, perhaps paying a little bit more is worth it sometimes? I will personally continue to do shop with them, as well as at the remaining local smaller shops. I am not against Aldi or another supermarket coming to Rye, but would be very upset if Jempson’s Rye or any of the remaining smaller shops decided to close the as a result. I would not like to be left with just Aldi, as they do not have the range and quality of products I want. I guess that the Morrison range may suit those on lower budgets, but if Aldi becomes a reality, Jempson’s may be able to focus on quality rather than price. Some of the local smaller food shops have disappeared because most of us prefer to get our ‘weekly shop’ in one place. If that one place is Aldi or Jempson’s matters not. If you want to keep the remaining greengrocers, butchers, bakers, etc., then you must use them, or you’ll loose them. The same goes for your local supermarket. I don’t fancy driving to Peasmarsh or Tenterden to do a food shop and Aldi won’t be all I want….
I totally agree with Bubbs comments
Rye is a lovely place to visit for a day as a tourist.
Thats about it
Rye needs some competition from outsiders ,surely the fact that jempsons made a loss tells u all you need to know
The prices jempsons charge ,are almost extortion
most people drive out of town to
Hastings ,tenterden folkstone to do the weekly shop in cheaper supermarkets
I’m sure a aldi or lidles would bring people in to the town rather than drive them away
I have lived in East Sussex most of my life
And years a go, Rye had a Thursday market worth getting the train or bus to but not any more and the town main high street was packed with people not any more ,
It needs competition to survive
Don’t shut the door on the future of Rye
Relying on tourists is not enough.
I hope Aldi does get the go a head