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Supermarkets are well capable of giving small local business a run for their money and many a times forcing them to close down. However the impact of this phenomenon on local communities, whether does this cause local communities to wither and die is debatable, with some prominent thinkers eviscerating policy makers lenient to supermarkets and others welcoming the changes that supermarket bring in to communities.
The culture and vibe in local communities and the prominent business in the locality have a symbiotic relationship, they both thrive on each other. Local business contribute immensely to sustain the local communities, through being a main source of direct and indirect employment and being a cradle for development of community leaders. The unchecked growth of supermarket, which tend to be centrally governed and usually with no say and involvement of local community in its daily operation, can ring death knell to this relationship and wreak havoc. There are many well documented examples of this in USA, where especially in suburban areas, youth have either resorted to emigration or languishing in jobless resulting in death of local communities.
However there is an other side of the coin too, supermarkets can give a much needed impetus to local business and thus local communities, as supermarkets need not compete with local business. Instead supermarket can turn local business in to feeders for the business, thus allowing the business pie to grow instead of splitting the pie. This is indeed the case in growth stories of supermarkets like Lulu, which is a hypermarket chain in India. This supermarket chain has become a hub for all local business to showcase and sell their wares and thus helped the local business and local community to prosper and thrive.
In conclusion, I do not agree fully with the view that expansion of supermarkets can bring death knell to communities. if supermarkets grows establishing a symbiotic relationship with local business and local communities then all is well.
