Foreign Perspectives

We thought that we’d have a go at stocking up in one of the border towns near here that used to be a dutyfree town ie one that sold all the dutyfree stuff that you get in the airports and whatnot.

Although “dutyfree” has gone, at least between European countries, none of the supermarkets in that town seems to have moved on at all. They still concentrate almost entirely on what were the former dutyfree items so you get a massive selection of drink, perfumes and tobacco and very little else.

I suspect that they survive on that mixture simply because ot the habit of the locals to shop in the “dutyfree” has carried on long after the dutyfree aspects have gone. If that’s the case, it would seem that the town only has a long slow decline in its future.