Be careful what you wish for.
I was watching a Money Programme type of programme about Tesco in the UK on TV about a year or two ago. Tesco build massive out of town stores that sell everything from a needle to an anchor. I think one in every eight pounds spent in the UK is spent in Tesco. Their prices, especially at the start, are very competitive. They put on loads of promotions and sponsored everthing locally. "Hey We're the good guys. We want to offer you super value for money." Their real purpose of this is ingraciate themselves with their customers and to kill off all the smaller local shops, grocers, butchers, clothes, electrical, drapers, sweetshops, newsagents. Okay everyone wants cheaper stuff but there is a cost to be paid.
Before you know it the town is a wasteland filled with charity shops, estate agents, banks and pubs. The whole Town loses its character something which IMO Ballina has in spades.
By the time locals realise that they don't really want to shop in these huge Tesco shops and they want to go back to the smaller shops it's too late. All the other shops have all closed or gone to the wall.
Walmart has also been heavily slated for doing the same thing in the USA where they created massive retail wastelands.
In Dublin for example there are very few small shops. Dunnes Tesco Superquinns Lidl and Aldi account for most of the supermarket shopping. There are also some smaller symbol shops as well, but there are very few local, non symbol shops.
(Michael Ring is your only man)
