Swinton c-store front bears resemblance to Tesco Express 

A newsagent owner whose Swinton-based shop front bears some resemblance to a Tesco Express has revealed that he bought the supermarket like that – but would never change it anyway.

Jay Patel, 38, has developed a loyal customer base at his Retro Express store in Swinton, Greater Manchester, over the last decade. The popular store, located on the busy Chorley Road, features a sign with the same red typeface used on Tesco Express stores and is complete with a blue horizontal bar under each letter on a white background.

peaking about the resemblance between his store and Tesco Express, owner Mr Patel said: ‘My customers are happy to come in and they like it… We were never going to change the name, it’s what the shop is known as’

Speaking about the resemblance between Retro Express and Tesco Express, owner Patel said, “I bought the shop and it was already the name. My customers are happy to come in and they like it, so I kept it. We were never going to change the name, it’s what the shop is known as.”

Shoppers have backed Patel and many praised the newsagent for its “clever marketing”. The store is popular with regulars for its well-stocked shelves and customer service. But shoppers admit it’s helped by the similarity it has with that of a Tesco Express store, Daily Mail reported.

It’s the latest local store to go viral for appearing to ‘copycat’ some of Britain’s biggest supermarkets. 

A Wolverhampton store called ‘Singh’sbury Local’, a Salford shop named ‘Tecco Express’ and Manchester corner shop ‘Morrisan’ have also made headlines over the years. 

It comes after a 24-year-old entrepreneur in Manchester made headlines after naming his store ‘Morrisan’.

Aref Ostadali also gave his store a yellow colour scheme and said he was hoping that Morrisons would let him keep the design.

He told Metro at the time, “Everybody has a dream, and I wanted to have a big supermarket. I’m just 24-years-old but I had this dream, so I decided to start from somewhere to try and make that dream work. 

“I was thinking about making a small shop but making a big name for it.’

“He added: ‘”It’s been open two weeks and thousands of people have taken photos. They really love taking pictures outside the shop. All the people who pass it will never forget the location.”