Heading for the chop? Gwent butchers struggle on as demand dwindles

Butchers struggle on as demand dwindles It has been a staple of the high street in Gwent for centuries, but there are genuine fears that the traditional butcher shop could completely disappear within the next decade.

Chris Wood looks at whether a British institution is entering its twilight years THERE was once a time when butcher shops were the only place to buy your meat. But not only do many younger people no longer use them, there are children growing up unaware they even exist.

This was a sad realisation for the small number left in Newport indoor market when a primary school group visited recently.

Pupils had told their teacher they believed that meat, fruit, vegetables and bread came from a shelf in their local supermarket and were taken to see the produce available on market stalls, a location that would have been extremely familiar to previous generations.

But this school excursion is a luxury that may not be available to schoolchildren in years to come – the last butcher’s of eight that traded on Blackwood High Street will close this month, while there are now just two left in Newport market, out of 22 that traded there during its heyday.

Stuart Brown is the third generation of his family to run Brown’s in Blackwood, but he will retire at the end of the month, leaving the town with no independent butcher.

While he calls his shop “a viable business” and said he is calling time simply because he is nearing 65 and has no son to take it on, Mr Brown has witnessed a steady decline in the fortunes of the trade over the last 30 years.

He said: “I think the BSE crisis started the demise throughout Britain and then things like foot and mouth disease, salmonella, food poisoning scares and questions over food hygiene continued to erode it.”

While some point to supermarkets as killing off the trade, Mr Brown is adamant that he has never seen them as competition.

He said: “Our customers have always been traditional shoppers, they are loyal and we look after them, so they keep coming back and then their children do.

“What is changing is eating habits. When a mother asks her children what they want for tea these days, they don’t say they want a lamb chop from the butchers and a cooked dinner any more. They want a takeaway, a McDonald’s or a pizza.”

But, Mr Brown does see a future for the industry- he says trade has dipped considerably since the recession, but believes it will come back in time.

This view, however, is in stark contrast to those of Prime Cuts owner Phillip Jenkins who operated down the road in Oakdale for 22 years.

Mr Jenkins called time on the business last year after seeing his profits drop by £5,000 per year over the last five years.

He fired a salvo as he closed up, saying: “It’s like we’re banging our heads against a wall, the supermarkets are taking over.

“Even if people don’t intend to buy their meat from the supermarket, they go there for other groceries and see offers on bacon and other meats and pick them up.”

But nowhere is the disappearance of the local butcher more in evidence than at Newport indoor market.

The Turner family have been resident since Don opened a store in 1950, with son Tony now running it with his sons Mike and Patrick.

Tony Turner said: “When I started in 1961, there were 22 butchers here and there are two left now.

“Back then, we’d be open from 7am to 6pm and didn’t stop serving all day. They’d blow a whistle at 5.30pm to signal the market was closing and it would be literally non-stop until then.

“These days, you can have a game of football down the market aisles, it is so quiet.”

Mike Turner is 43 and there were still 12 butchers in the market when he started in 1985, joking: “They’ll have us in a museum soon.”

The only working life he has ever known is from 7am to 6pm six days a week, putting in over 60 hours.

He believes a large part of the demise of the industry is the fact younger people simply don’t want to work those hours any more.

Mr Turner also points to the pedestrianisation of Newport city centre over 20 years ago, taking 20 per cent off our trade overnight.

He said: “This stopped cars and customers getting to us, which killed a lot of our trade. We deliver, which keeps us afloat, but convenience has taken over.

“People have got such busy lifestyles, they just drive everywhere, the pedestrianisation means they can’t simply park outside the market and pop in any more, so most go to the supermarket.”

Mr Turner said the local butcher scores highly on quality of cuts you don’t get in the supermarket, but said butchers now have to diversify, offering pies, pasties and other items that people can’t get in Asda or Tesco.

He added that a butcher’s popularity at Christmas won’t pay for the whole year, with his mother Theresa Turner putting things more bluntly: “The next generation may not know what a butcher is. People should use it or lose it.”

The other remaining butcher in the market, Tony Elston was more upbeat about the future.

He said: “Things are tough now, but they are tough in every line of work at the moment, not just for us. There is always a market for a good butcher and the good ones are still around and surviving.”

Steve Evans, who is manager of Clarke’s in Caldicot, called on local authorities to help the High Street, saying some butchers’ takings are going down 20 per cent a year annually.

He said: “I look outside the window and see so many empty shops, so it’s no wonder nobody is coming here. Councils give land and permission for out-of-town retail parks and supermarkets, but should really be supporting their high streets and get people back shopping here.”

Supermarket giant Morrisons, however, takes the view that instead of being detrimental to the high street and the industry, their stores could actually be helping to sustain it.

A spokeswoman said: “Morrisons is committed to developing skilled butchers, which, with many leaving the industry, is helping to keep traditional skills alive.”

She added that their research in four town centres found 78 per cent of traders believed the company’s presence had a positive or neutral effect, adding: “Wherever we trade, there will inevitably be competition with some local shops, which we believe can only be good for the consumer.

“Supermarkets provide much needed footfall to high streets (where over half of our stores are located) which benefits all retailers.”

Perhaps though, changing consumer needs will mean that butchers of the future are primarily based behind the meat counters of major supermarkets.

A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: “Colleagues who work on our fresh meat counters have the opportunity to study in one of our food colleges, where they can learn meat counter skills.”

A spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium, which represents all shops from small independents like butchers to large supermarket chains said the biggest determining factor is where consumers choose to spend their money.

She said competition helps to drive excellence and innovation, adding: “Business is very competitive in its nature, so some succeed and unfortunately some fail.

“Independent stores can offer a different strength to those of supermarkets and many have years of community support and loyalty.”

And it appears this community support and loyalty is needed more than ever before, otherwise butcher shops could soon be confined to history and the Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans as relics of a bygone era.