At 2/2A St James’s Street, in an excellent position opposite the Oxfam and the Turkish Shop is a Costcutter with an ATM , or Cash Machine outside, which charges ₤1.75 per withdrawal, despite there being free machines only yards away outside the St James’s Street railway station and outside Togane Telecom on the High Street.

Inside the corporately contrived exterior in British Racing Green is a franchise ‘convenience’ store, selling cleaning materials, shampoos, newspapers, cigarettes, alcohol, a few groceries, cereal, jams, baby food, cat food (Whiskas is an extortionate 65p a tin), milk (at 80p a liter), dairy products and juices (pineapple juice is ₤1 a litre, a full 100% more expensive than at the Turkish shop opposite.) Some goods are frozen. The emphasis, though, is on providing the franchisee with name brands and an own label range “featuring ambient products and the best sellers come from the key destination categories, such as soft drinks, crisps and snacks. Own label is also present on bread and milk, obvious key volume drivers within the convenience-retailing arena.”

‘Ambient’ products generally have a long shelf life and do not require refrigeration. Costcutter considers its high prices warrant the description of its operation as ‘progressive’, though no-where on its website can I find out quite why this should be so.. It has an own label range which consists of around 200 lines: “An own label offering is crucial for every progressive independent. The Costcutter philosophy towards own label is to provide retailers with a competitively priced, quality brand alternative in key groups, providing cash margins for retailers, whilst contributing to the image of the store.”

On the front door is the information that they do not sell Oyster. To the left of the cash machine we are informed that they sell ‘E Top-Ups’. There is also a flyer to the right about the nearby closed St James’s Street Library announcing a ‘Rally to Defend Our Libraries’. Tel: 02085091834