Oh, such vitriol by your correspondence against the evil Tesco! (Supermarket is taking over town, June 25).

Its original store can surely not be described as a monstrosity and being single-storey is hardly visible from Trowbridge Park. The fact that it is now empty and an eyesore is not Tesco's fault. The Civic Centre is, in comparison, far more obtrusive. Personally I believe its new store is well-designed and attractive, and those traffic lights do benefit someone other than Tesco, namely the safe access and exit of their customers!

As with all successful companies Tesco's move to its new site was obviously consumer driven. Customers these days demand a wider and wider range of products at lower and lower prices, something the smaller shops can no longer provide.

Nostalgia is all very well but it is very often misplaced. Small shops cannot match the prices of supermarkets and can only survive by offering something the supermarkets cannot usually specialised products or services. There are many examples of such shops in Trowbridge.

Tesco and other large retailers only become successful by offering products to people that they want and at prices they can afford.

For Tesco one could also have said Sainsbury, Asda etc. These companies are not greedy, they are profit driven (remember that many thousands of their customers are also their shareholders) and provide much-needed employment in their locations.

Finally, I do agree with your correspondence about Tesco's negative attitude to the retention of post offices. Personally I think every supermarket, large or small, should offer the services of a post office. Maybe then they would be available seven days a week!

JOHN DEARDS

Conference Close

Warminster