Supermarkets suffering.

[firenze]

Interesting news of Morrisons losses the other big 4 also seem to be down on profits.  I noticed the last two shops at Asda have shown large drops on some items.  Maybe Aldi and Llidle are more of a threat than expected. I also seem unconsciously to be shopping more at nearby small shops, in my case I think perhaps not being so keen to drive and find the big store so without soul.

[Fred Smiff]

there certainly is some being said about Aldi & Lidl, perhaps the 'big boys' need to stop resting on their laurels , and stop fighting each other quite so much ?

[Bills Double]

there certainly is some being said about Aldi & Lidl, perhaps the 'big boys' need to stop resting on their laurels , and stop fighting each other quite so much ?

 


I agree with you Fred, from what I heard over the Christmas period both Aldi & Lidl's sales went far beyond their expectations whereas Tesco, Asda & Morrisons - their sales went DOWN compared with the previous Christmas. Personally speaking, I don't think Tesco, Asda or Morrisons give value for money. 

[Granny49]

I think people are getting more and more suspicious of the "big" be it electricity suppliers, banks or supermarkets and after the problems with horsemeat I am sure you are not the only one who tends towards small and local Firenze.

[xetog]

We normally shop in ASDA as its literally half a mile from us, but about two miles away there is a new Aldi.  We do not shop there regularly, but once every couple of weeks we drop in for a look around.  We often buy their bread which we find superior to anything sold in ASDA and although limited in ranges of goods, those they have are much cheaper than the big boys. Their cosmetics are always highly praised by the newspapers and magazines and they are far cheaper than the big brand names, so my wife likes to buy there.
 
 
If we take the bus into town, aside from Liddle there are numerous pound shops and discount stores which can offer amazing value.  Yesterday we were in town for new glasses and popped into a shop called Savers and found Options Belgian Hot Chocolate (a favourite of ours) at £1.94, it's £3.84 in ASDA.  Many of these things are on limited offer, but worth looking for.  Also, many of the unbranded products are poorly made, but if you are careful and stick to what you know, there are bargains to be had.  I sit in a rather dark corner of our lounge when working at my laptop and often have to turn on the light beside me to see the keyboard.  I bought a little LED lamp with a USB plug for the computer and it is brilliant, so in spite of it's dubious origins in Poundland I am more than happy with it.  Plastic products, bowls, chopping boards etc are usually fine, but I would be very careful about mains electrical goods in pound shops as they may be CE marked, but not really up to standard (I had a switch blow up on me once).  Tools and equipment from Aldi and Liddle are fine though because they are usually German made and come with a full warranty.
 
 
Sorry for the diatribe, but I gave up the false pride of eschewing these places long ago and now I know what to avoid happily use them whenever I can.
 
 
M.

[Granny49]

Is your Lidl in the town centre xetog?  They (Lidl and Aldi) tend to be smaller than Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco and it would be really good to have them taking town centre shops.  I think it would bring back town centre butchers, greengrocers, etc.  We have none of these in our biggest local town* although the is now one of the small Tescos there.

*I have just realised there is a really good butchers but on the edge of town, not in the centre.

[avalonmpk2]

I can vouch for aldi purchased; 50 of their black buckets at a bargain price (55p each) came home and drilled seven, three quarter-inch holes and have grown 1st early potatoes in them for the past three years and am going to plant more in them later on today but have to wash them in 'Jeys' first. Then into the polytunnel.

[xetog]

G49.  No. Although we have two Lidle stores, neither of them are in the town centre, but just outside (although much closer than we are.  Rereading my post, I can see that I gave the wrong impression.  Liddle is quite big in Spain and our nearest is right next door to the Supermarket we like (Consum).  When we shop, we go in Liddle first, pick up what we can and buy the remainder in Consum.  All these cheaper stores were once a bit chaotic, but have learned that people like to shop in neat modern surroundings and so now offer real competition to the big 5.  As I said, we just shop for the bargains and never use a trolley, but we do see lot's of people absolutely cramming the very large trollies and clearly for them it is their weekly shop
 
 
M. .

[Citizen68]

A lot depends on whether you only like top brands with which you are familiar.


Aldi and Lidl market many of the top brands in Germany, and the quality is very good and extremely comparable in most cases with the goods to which you may be more accustomed. I would recommend you try something once, if it's not a lot of money. If you don't like it, at least you know. We have only rarely been disappointed, and that was a matter of personal preference rather than poor quality. (The only thing to watch out for is popular British brands on the shelves alongside theirs - there may be a special deal on them, but often they are not cheaper here!)


We have found their supermarkets not in the town centre, but not too far away, in a well-populated residential area - not on the outskirts of town like the biggest supermarkets.


Currently, in the centre of town, we have a fresh fruit and veg. shop which markets local produce; and a fresh fish shop where they go out in a family-owned boat and catch their own produce three times a week. We are trying to support both, in a modest way, as we want them to keep going!

[Granny49]

We used to have a covered market in our nearest large town Citizen68.  The council built on the site and there are many shops in the new building now although it has never been completely full.  The Market went in the basement and survived for a few years until the council let the space to one company.  There were wet fish, meat, veg, fabric, sweets, such a variety of things and they had long reputations having been there for years.  The units were obviously cheap enough originally but when they went in the basement of the new building the numbers slowly dwindled as the rents went up.  I think it was very short sighted as it brought people in to the town who did other shopping as well.

[Strac]

Totally agree with Citizen68 Aldi and Lidl brands are just as good as the more well known brands. If they can sell and make a profit with their prices it makes one wonder why the big chains do not use the same strategy.

[xetog]

Unfortunately this will probably be used as an excuse to screw our farmers even more and import more cheap rubbish from abroad.
 
 
M.

[Sheila]

My daughter told me that one of the cheaper supermarkets was selling fish caught in a possibly contaminated area (near Japan).  There is a code showing the area on the back of the packaging.  I am not an expert on the subject but my daughter has young children so she is a bit more aware.

[stellamaris]

I used to shop daily in Morrisons [about 4/5 minutes walk away],  but I have sinced moved and am nearer to other places so don't go as often.  I liked Morrisons, fresh meat, fish, bread, vegetables and bananas.  I bought local milk,  Longley Farm yoghurts and Rice Bran cooking oil.  Their Quorn section was good as well.  They are  good for daily shopping and local produce.  I hope they are able to make a come-back and concentrate on what they are good at.

[Strac]

Xetog A valid argument but I think goods imported goods  from Germany or indeed many other nations are  neither shoddy or made in factories with cheap labour. Being made overseas does not necessary mean rubbish. You are correct that Supermarkets do try exploit farmers. However our farmers are beginning to see better profits from their farms and should be able to compete.