Tesco under cover

The Sunday Telegraph has today published a piece about an unusual tactic being employed by Tesco in making a planning application for a store in Barnstaple in Devon.

Apparently the application was formally made in the name of a local retailer called Brian Ford, a business that they have taken over and have represented as the true identity of the applicant. My interest was piqued not simply because it begs the question as to why Tesco felt the need to conceal their identity but also because, in the Telegraph piece it suggests that, other retailers have complained that Tesco has acted in an "underhand" manner. That begs the question about whether they are more upset that Tesco stole a march on them in Barnstaple or that Tesco had thought of the wheeze first.

What I would hope is that the planning authority in Barnstaple consider the need for the town to have a new 80,000 sq ft supermarket and the potential impact that it might have on the trading environment of real local traders and the long term choice available to consumers.