Source : Diário de Notícias 16/11/2007

According to a recent study the population of Madeira spend €353 million a year in supermarket purchases (food, drink, and regular household expenditure. That works out at an average €399 euros per month, for Madeira's 74,000 families, which is roughly equivalent to the minimum wage, and 75% of this is spent in the 3 main supermarket chains (Modelo, Pingo Doce, and Hyper Sã) who have together 40 outlets on Madeira.

It looks like the next results will show an increase of around 10%! and following on from yesterdays blog about people spending less at christmas due to financial pressures, it could easily be construed that figure and maybe more is attributable to inflation.

I remember well a similar time in the UK when there were lots of small 'corner shops' and a few big supermarkets and then along came the first of the hypermarkets (I think it was called Carrefor where I lived). Then over a period of 20 years or more along came more and more hypermarkets, and the small shops gradually closed down as they couldn't compete. Having then squeezed out all their competitors in the food market, they then went on to wipe out many other businesses by starting to sell clothes, electrical goods, and other ranges of new products at prices no one could compete with. That process is still happening in England.

As the hypermarkets were supported by the general public, understandably choosing to save money rather than supporting their local businesses, I don't suppose anyone except the redundant shop staff have any cause for complaint. With the big 3 supermarkets here on Madeira already having 75% of the grocery income for the island, it seems a strong possibility that the 2nd phase (product diversity) is ready to arrive. The impact ... very likely the loss of many small local businesses, whose only weapon will be convenience. As business is already tough for most regions (except for Funchal of course), then am I being pessimistic in thinking that along with other economic pressures, we 'out in the sticks' are in for a bit of a rough ride?

In contrast, and also in todays paper, there is a report on Madeira's presence at the World Travel Market in London, where it seems a good time was had by all and everything went well. The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport, Conceição Estudante, is quoted as saying (about 2008 & 2009) "poderão ser bons anos para a Madeira". I am not even going to bother to translate that, other than to say 'for Madeira read Funchal'.

http://www.madeira4u.com