At 8 am on 15th December, the new store opened, and when I got there an hour later, the car park was almost full.
The new junction means that cars going to Abingdon must turn right and block bikes on the existing cycleway.
I went by bike and found the bike stands tucked away in the furthest corner. Some cyclists left their bikes near the entrance as a result.
Inside was bright and spacious. There was no annoying music, just trolleys clinking and people chatting. The shelves were all full, and no sign of any supermarket shortages. Shelves were tidy, and some staff tidied them even more.
The new store loves its posters and slogans. Repeated at regular intervals were downward pointing arrows with the words ‘Like super low prices – you’ll like AIdi‘. There was also ‘Make Christmas Amazing for everybody‘, ‘Amazing quality – Amazing prices‘, ‘Bakery – The best thing since sliced bread‘. The long banks of chiller cabinets said, ‘Save enough CO2 per year to fill 200 double-decker buses’ That was ‘fill 3 hot air balloons’ further along.
‘Special Buys’ were in the central aisles with ‘When they are gone, they are gone‘. These were products like Christmas door mats, cushions with Christmas elves, a game called Blingo, toasters and kettles.
There were unfamiliar brands that sounded half familiar such as chocolate biscuits called ‘seal bars’ and ‘cart wheels’.
At the end of the fruit and veg aisle, you could get six items at a special price, the so-called ‘Super 6.’ This week, they were cos lettuce, broccoli, packs of easy peelers, roasting potatoes, lemons and red apples.
