The battle of jobs v costs | Editorial

ANOTHER 30 jobs will be lost on the Border with the closure of Albury’s Joyce Mayne outlet.

Staff at the store did not want to comment yesterday, but they are no doubt bitterly disappointed that the doors are set to close in a few weeks.

The news prompted a reminder from Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce business manager Kathie Heyman of the need to support local businesses.

But more and more, shoppers are out to bag the lowest price they can, and that’s often to be found online where businesses don’t have anywhere near the kinds of overheads of traditional business.

It’s not so much a choice to not support local business but a need to get the best value for our dollar.

With the bills that come into our households nudging that little bit higher with every month, it seems the only thing not going up at the same rate is our income.

As a former employee at Joyce Mayne lamented yesterday, it’s a competitive business — and never more so than now, when shoppers have the world wide web at their disposal.

But there is a price to pay and that is the loss of options — and jobs — in our community.