Peter Owens was an outspoken opponent of anything that smacked of Big Business.

It's outrageous! The bigger those department store chains get, the more overbearing their attitudes become and the more they are likely to overcharge their customers, he said at the top of his voice.

He clearly felt strongly about this subject. Opening ever larger number of outlets in outlying areas is a way of doing business that's already outmoded, mark my words.

And the gimmicks they get up to! One of them recently opened a new shopping complex in an oval shape.

Just imagine! In this way, they force you to walk around the entire building even if you just want to buy a few groceries.

They are overburdening the likes of you and me with so many things we just don't need.

I am quite sure the outlook for that kind of store, even over the medium term, is no good at all.

Once peter got going, his outrage knew no bounds.

I will tell you this outright: The overall involved in making your way to and around those labyrinths far outweigh the savings you can get from shopping there.

The traditional mom-and-pop corner store will outlast this fiendish invention of the late 20th century, you will see.

All right, I grant you that those chain stores absorb an awful lot of the major manufactures‘ output, but what about variety? he asked his audience who, as usual sat in stunned silence.

I have said from the outset that those huge chains will not be able to outwit the typical consumer forever.

A change in consumer forever. A change in consumer purchasing pattern is long overdue, and I am afraid of the chain stores'future is heavily overcast.