Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:50 am  

Who would have thought it surely the most predictable poll result ever http://news.sky.com/story/1054183/tesco ... ich-survey

Who would have thought it surely the most predictable poll result ever http://news.sky.com/story/1054183/tesco ... ich-survey

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:57 am  

I'd put it as a tie between Tesco and Asda, on the basis that the business ethos of the latter (the ethos of its owner, Wal-Mart) is largely the model that Tesco has followed, and is the model that is at the forefront of the drive to relentlessly cut prices (and cut what the retailer pays to suppliers and producers), regardless of the impact on quality and jobs.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:00 am  

I have never understood how a system can work where the buyer TELLS the seller what price they are going to pay for their goods, regardless of cost of production.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:05 am  

I'm an Aldis man now.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:17 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

I have never understood how a system can work where the buyer TELLS the seller what price they are going to pay for their goods, regardless of cost of production.

Some even tell the supplier that they are going to do a BOGOF next week and the supplier will need to do the same.
Some charge the supplier "set-up" costs for introducing the product into the shops and even charge them for the costs involved when they discontinue a line.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:51 am  

El Barbudo wrote:

Some even tell the supplier that they are going to do a BOGOF next week and the supplier will need to do the same.
Some charge the supplier "set-up" costs for introducing the product into the shops and even charge them for the costs involved when they discontinue a line.

And countless other ruses.

Many of which are detailed in Joanna Blythman's Shopped: The shocking power of Britain's supermarkets.

In essence, it's easy for them to get away with a lot because the major supermarket chains have at least 80% of the entire UK retail grocery market.

And some of what they do is just bonkers.

Blythman recounts stories told to her by farmers, such as the farmer who grew Worcester Pearmain apples – and had his crop rejected by one supermarket because they were 'too pear-like'. Well, durr: the clue is in the name of this old variety (introduced in UK in 1874), you f¨ckwitted imbecile.

Or the farmer who grew potatoes and was told to grow a slightly bigger one the following year. She did so – only to be told they were then too big, and were rejected. She fed the whole lot to animals and withdrew from dealing with any supermarkets, working to get herself involved in the developing farmers' market scene.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:47 am  

Mintball wrote:

And countless other ruses.

Many of which are detailed in Joanna Blythman's Shopped: The shocking power of Britain's supermarkets.

In essence, it's easy for them to get away with a lot because the major supermarket chains have at least 80% of the entire UK retail grocery market.

And some of what they do is just bonkers.

Blythman recounts stories told to her by farmers, such as the farmer who grew Worcester Pearmain apples – and had his crop rejected by one supermarket because they were 'too pear-like'. Well, durr: the clue is in the name of this old variety (introduced in UK in 1874), you f¨ckwitted imbecile.

Or the farmer who grew potatoes and was told to grow a slightly bigger one the following year. She did so – only to be told they were then too big, and were rejected. She fed the whole lot to animals and withdrew from dealing with any supermarkets, working to get herself involved in the developing farmers' market scene.

I think it was Blythman's book where I got the info originally.

In passing, I made a rare visit to a supermarket last week ... Sainsbury's.
On the one hand I was pleasantly surprised at the number of different English apple varieties on offer but, on the other hand, I couldn't compare the unit prices of the same oranges in different packages. Even with a pocket calculator it would have been impossible, one was so many oranges per pack and one was so-much per kilo, without knowing the weight of one orange you'd be stumped.

I had plenty of time and had a good wander round, just out of interest/curiosity/nosiness, looking at ingredients and suchlike.
Many ready meals contain ingredients that not only do you not have in your store-cupboard at home ... but Sainsbury's don't sell them as separate ingredients either.
At least, I didn't see any tubs of bi and triglycerides of fatty acids in the baking section.

I bought a net of oranges and a packet of Taylor's coffee and left.

Speaking, as we were, of Tesco ... I never set foot in that place these days, I simply don't trust them.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:52 am  

Mintball wrote: And countless other ruses. Many of which are detailed in Joanna Blythman's Shopped: The shocking power of Britain's supermarkets. In essence, it's easy for them to get away with a lot because the major supermarket chains have at least 80% of the entire UK retail grocery market. And some of what they do is just bonkers. Blythman recounts stories told to her by farmers, such as the farmer who grew Worcester Pearmain apples – and had his crop rejected by one supermarket because they were 'too pear-like'. Well, durr: the clue is in the name of this old variety (introduced in UK in 1874), you f¨ckwitted imbecile. Or the farmer who grew potatoes and was told to grow a slightly bigger one the following year. She did so – only to be told they were then too big, and were rejected. She fed the whole lot to animals and withdrew from dealing with any supermarkets, working to get herself involved in the developing farmers' market scene. Occasionally, just occasionally mind, the supplier bites back. William Chase of Tyrrell Potato Chips being a prime example.

Mintball wrote: And countless other ruses. Many of which are detailed in Joanna Blythman's Shopped: The shocking power of Britain's supermarkets. In essence, it's easy for them to get away with a lot because the major supermarket chains have at least 80% of the entire UK retail grocery market. And some of what they do is just bonkers. Blythman recounts stories told to her by farmers, such as the farmer who grew Worcester Pearmain apples – and had his crop rejected by one supermarket because they were 'too pear-like'. Well, durr: the clue is in the name of this old variety (introduced in UK in 1874), you f¨ckwitted imbecile. Or the farmer who grew potatoes and was told to grow a slightly bigger one the following year. She did so – only to be told they were then too big, and were rejected. She fed the whole lot to animals and withdrew from dealing with any supermarkets, working to get herself involved in the developing farmers' market scene. Occasionally, just occasionally mind, the supplier bites back. William Chase of Tyrrell Potato Chips being a prime example.

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:53 am  

El Barbudo wrote:

Speaking, as we were, of Tesco ... I never set foot in that place these days, I simply don't trust them.

Oh bless them they let you park free for 3 hours in some towns, have handy toilets if needs must but spend money with them.....NEVER!!!!!

Re: Britain's Worst Supermarket : Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:00 pm  

El Barbudo wrote:

<snip>

Very occasionally, I venture into the Waitrose at the Brunswick Centre, which is a short walk from work. But generally, while I use the online service for bulky basics (the cat food, big roll etc) I try to avoid them.

I did visit Sainsbury's at the Angel a few months ago – which simply reminded of why those big box stores are so unpleasant.