Tesco buy all nine Shoprite supermarkets- Monopoly?

[IOM]

5 minutes ago, Gladys said:

I have never disputed whether there is a premium or not, or your reported discrepancies.  What I have disputed is what can be done about it, if anything, by who and at whose cost? 

I have also questioned whether these increases are anywhere near the mark ups Shoprite had, so are we, generally, any worse off?

Agreed you might not have disputed it but many others do . The answer is we are worse off because it’s worth remembering these price premiums are at Lake Road which has not changed in any way . What happens with the old Shoprite stores we don’t yet know other than Castletown Express . That store has premiums of between 10% and 25% from what I observed so far so a big increase in that case . 
 

The only thing they can be done about it right now is to take note of what is going on and shop around . Sometimes it feels like some posters don’t want to know about how much they are paying for their food and groceries which simply baffles me . 

[woolley]

1 hour ago, IOM said:

See if any of these random products are misrepresented. The first price is Tesco Uk the second Lake Road See comments!!  You can buy at your listed prices, but you'd have to be nuts in most cases.

Anchor spreadable butter 400g 335 v 350 But would you buy it when you can have 750g on Clubcard offer for £5.30. Does have to be said that the offer in the UK is £5.00, so 5% on this one too.

kellogs cornflakes 720g 320v 335 The 500g is Aldi price matched at £2.25 in both so you can save 11p of the 15p if you so wish. Or the Tesco own brand are perfectly fine (better according to Mrs.) at 75p for 500g in both places.

Penguin Biscuits 7 pack 175 v 185   Yep. Other chocolate biscuits are available, of course.

Whole Earth smooth 454g peanut butter 450v 475 But what idiot would buy it when you can have more than twice as much, 1kg, for just 75p more £5.50 in both places.

Mars Duo chocolate bar 100v 105 Yep.

Onken Yogurt Mango and passion fruit 195 v 205 Yep.

Tesco Unsmoked Dry cure bacon 6 slices 350v 370  But you wouldn't because it's 2 for £5 in both places.

Richmond Sausages 250 v 265 Looks like the 8 pack, but you can have the 12 pack, so 50% more sausages for less money - £2.00 on offer in both places.

Hartleys Strawberry jam 170v 180 If you really need Hartleys but lots of others available cheaper.

Bonne Maman 370g conserve 345 v 380 But £2.85 in both places on offer.

5 mini Mr Kipling Battenberg 250v 265 Yep. But Mr Kipling does bake exceedingly SMALL cakes and they're full of sugar. Better available, and cheaper!

Andrex super quilted 9 toilet rolls x9 650 v 685 Again, 5.35 on offer IOM or £5.00 in the UK, but if you buy the 16 pack on offer, it's £9.50 either here or the UK, so really, how many people are going to buy it the way you presented it? This is why it's a total distortion and misrepresentation.

Rowse honey 680g 400v 420 Yep, on this particular item, but wide range of honeys available at same price as UK on offer.

mccain straight cut oven chips 1.6kg 430 v 450  But £3.50 in both places on offer.

Baby plum tomatoes 300g 100v 105 Yep, but Mrs W advises that they are frequently on offer - 75p in both places a couple of weeks ago.

Tesco mini carrots 320g 100v 105 Yep, but there is a 3 for 2 offer, so you can buy 3 for 70p each!

Tesco tinned marrow fat peas 300g 50v 55. Yep.

Tesco Garden Peas 290g 50v 55 Yep. But you can have 900g of frozen ones for 99p on a price match in both places.

You really have to help yourself by looking at the best buying options for the home just as you do in business. It's a transaction when all is said and done. You are not misrepresenting individual items, but you are misrepresenting the way people select those items in the real world. Every time you and @CrazyDave come out with another list of items you miss the best ways to buy them economically. I wouldn't send the two of you shopping.
 

[woolley]

2 hours ago, Roger Mexico said:

I'm afraid you'll all have to suffer.  There's been so much quibbling I've had to do one of my tables.  Here's the number of lines currently at Lake Road according to the website:

	Lines	Spec Offs
Fresh	3020	1144
Bakery	634	103
Frozen	810	139
Food Cub	4676	1186
Drinks	2377	899
Health & B	2229	772
Pets	595	90
Household	864	638
Home & Ents	1326	193
Baby & Tod*	400	100
	16931	5264

Baby and Tod is a bit of an estimate as I reduced it due to some overlap with Household etc and I haven't included categories such as Snacks or easter, though it's possible they have some unique items under them.  But 18,000 seems a good if high working estimate.  Note also the high number of special offers (which doesn't appear to include price match).

Great work, Mexico.

[Roger Mexico]

59 minutes ago, WTF said:

but how many special offers are actually special offers ??? more likely they are marketing tools , the only real special offers will be when there is overstocking ( didn't sell as well as expected )  or end of line stuff they want to clear the shelves of to make room for new stock. the MFI 'sale' lasted about 20 years.

It's a mixture, but most special offers seem to be for a comparatively short time 1 - 6 weeks say.  There are some longer (some effectively permanent) reductions though they're often on meal deal, multibuys and so on and they're very much the minority.  For example a lot of the high percentage of special offers on household items is because there's a wide-ranging 4 for price of 3 deal at the moment, but that's only for a few weeks.

What they won't include are things like overstocking.  Special deals in a company like Tesco are arranged centrally, often in agreement with suppliers and set up from there on the computer systems.  Local management have no control over them.  At best they can bodge local notices to say something may not apply.

Overstocking is dealt with by reduced stickers and discounting on final day(s) in particular areas of the store.

[woolley]

2 hours ago, Max Power said:

Pretty good I think, the additional operating costs on the IoM probably exceed some of those markups when everything is taken into consideration?

I have to agree, and see my comments on his list above.

[CrazyDave]

1 minute ago, woolley said:

You really have to help yourself by looking at the best buying options for the home just as you do in business. It's a transaction when all is said and done. You are not misrepresenting individual items, but you are misrepresenting the way people select those items in the real world. Every time you and @CrazyDave come out with another list of items you miss the best ways to buy them economically. I wouldn't send the two of you shopping.
 

Customers shouldn’t have to think about it.  A price should be a price.

I know it’s standard across retail and hospitality, travel and every other industry but I despise it.

Its another way of hitting those who might not be bright enough to work out the best way to shop (haha, hilarious for anyone who makes the obvious “joke”) or who might not have the time.

I try and stick with places who charge everyone the same price at all times, and I don’t care if it costs me a bit more.

The idea that Tesco are charging vulnerable people who can’t shop around more is repugnant as far as I am concerned, but I am aware that most have a mentality where as long as they are saving a few quid they don’t care.

[woolley]

3 minutes ago, CrazyDave said:

Customers shouldn’t have to think about it.  A price should be a price.

I know it’s standard across retail and hospitality, travel and every other industry but I despise it.

Its another way of hitting those who might not be bright enough to work out the best way to shop (haha, hilarious for anyone who makes the obvious “joke”) or who might not have the time.

I try and stick with places who charge everyone the same price at all times, and I don’t care if it costs me a bit more.

The idea that Tesco are charging vulnerable people who can’t shop around more is repugnant as far as I am concerned, but I am aware that most have a mentality where as long as they are saving a few quid they don’t care.

Fair comment, but this is a separate argument. It's like they made gaming machines so complicated that you needed a degree in operating the thing to have a chance of dropping the top prize. When I was a kid you just put your money in the slot and pulled the handle. Either you won or you lost.

[Gladys]

4 minutes ago, CrazyDave said:

Customers shouldn’t have to think about it.  A price should be a price.

I know it’s standard across retail and hospitality, travel and every other industry but I despise it.

Its another way of hitting those who might not be bright enough to work out the best way to shop (haha, hilarious for anyone who makes the obvious “joke”) or who might not have the time.

I try and stick with places who charge everyone the same price at all times, and I don’t care if it costs me a bit more.

The idea that Tesco are charging vulnerable people who can’t shop around more is repugnant as far as I am concerned, but I am aware that most have a mentality where as long as they are saving a few quid they don’t care.

People should think about it, groceries are a large part of most people's outgoings. The price is the price, whether on offer or not.  In fact, supermarkets have been giving a per unit price (kg, ltr or whatever) so customers can compare which is the best deal. Not sure if that is a legal requirement or a voluntary thing, but it is something I always check before buying if there are different sizes or brands being sold. 

I am not sure about your concern for vulnerable people.  Is it those with mobility issues, or those lacking in the mental capacity to do some simple arithmetic?  If it is mobility so can't get to Lake Road, surely they were stuck with Shoprite before?  Tesco could help by expanding their delivery service at Lake Road prices.  Perhaps someone should make representations to them on this aspect. 

[woolley]

4 hours ago, woolley said:

So when you do, make sure that you take account of offers available on Clubcard for the items you choose. That's what a typical shopper would do.

In other words don't buy a single unit that has a 5% uplift in IOM when you could buy 4 of the same thing for around twice the unit price both here and in the UK. That's what you did on your last list, and it isn't a realistic assessment.

 

4 hours ago, CrazyDave said:

Who has time for that when they are shopping.

We do pretty much daily shops and buy what we want.  I am not going to spend time weighing up the cheapest way to buy beans, I just pick up the nearest tin of beans.

Is this why I so often have to reach past people standing staring at the shelves?

Most people? It's not hard and takes no time at all. There's a bloody great blue and yellow Clubcard offer icon either on the website or in the store by the item. Can't miss them.

I'd turn it back on you to ask: Who has time for messing around shopping every single day? (although it's feeling a bit like that on here at the moment.) You mean to say you really do that every day?

[CrazyDave]

1 minute ago, Gladys said:

People should think about it, groceries are a large part of most people's outgoings. The price is the price, whether on offer or not.  In fact, supermarkets have been giving a per unit price (kg, ltr or whatever) so customers can compare which is the best deal. Not sure if that is a legal requirement or a voluntary thing, but it is something I always check before buying if there are different sizes or brands being sold. 

I am not sure about your concern for vulnerable people.  Is it those with mobility issues, or those lacking in the mental capacity to do some simple arithmetic?  If it is mobility so can't get to Lake Road, surely they were stuck with Shoprite before?  Tesco could help by expanding their delivery service at Lake Road prices.  Perhaps someone should make representations to them on this aspect. 

You keep missing the point.

I really do think those who are now limited to a Tesco express are going to be better off than when they had a Shoprite.  You might disagree, but having had a wander around Castletown I think many will be worse off.

I shop for one lady weekly, and another when her daughter is busy and can’t do it.

They each just give me a list.  They shouldn’t have to think or worry about if they could get it cheaper at a different branch or by buying in different quantities.  I guess I will do that and shield them from it, and I guess I am in a minority in thinking it’s unfair.

[CrazyDave]

2 minutes ago, woolley said:

 

Most people? It's not hard and takes no time at all. There's a bloody great blue and yellow Clubcard offer icon either on the website or in the store by the item. Can't miss them.

I'd turn it back on you to ask: Who has time for messing around shopping every single day? (although it's feeling a bit like that on here at the moment.) You mean to say you really do that every day?

I have a shop a two minute walk from my office .  I eat out a lot, but if I did want chilli I would go and buy the ingredients on the way home because there won’t be any kidney beans or beef mince in the house.

It takes minutes, and I would argue is quicker than going and doing a “big shop” every now and then when you factor in parking, loading, unloading, stocking cupboards at home etc etc.  assuming you are a two minute walk away like I am of course.

[Gladys]

13 minutes ago, CrazyDave said:

You keep missing the point. I dont think I do.

I really do think those who are now limited to a Tesco express are going to be better off than when they had a Shoprite.  You might disagree, but having had a wander around Castletown I think many will be worse off.  Which is why I suggested canvassing Tesco to point this out to them.  Castletown Shoprite was even more dire than their other stores with very little fresh meat or veg on sale. 

I shop for one lady weekly, and another when her daughter is busy and can’t do it.

They each just give me a list.  They shouldn’t have to think or worry about if they could get it cheaper at a different branch or by buying in different quantities.  I guess I will do that and shield them from it, and I guess I am in a minority in thinking it’s unfair.  If you are shopping on their behalf, you should weigh up the offers.  I used to shop for a couple during lockdown, if there was something on offer in a different brand or size, I would call to check.  I was spending their money. 

 

Edited March 13 by Gladys

[CrazyDave]

4 minutes ago, Gladys said:

 

I normally have it back in her kitchen and loaded into the fridge before she is even out of bed in the morning.

Not sure she would appreciate a phone call, but thanks for the advice

[Gladys]

1 minute ago, CrazyDave said:

I normally have it back in her kitchen and loaded into the fridge before she is even out of bed in the morning.

Not sure she would appreciate a phone call, but thanks for the advice

Well, set out some ground rules.  

[CrazyDave]

6 minutes ago, Gladys said:

Well, set out some ground rules.  

Wow.

Here goes then with the bit I didn’t want to share because people constantly take the piss.

I was using her as an example.  She gives me £40 a week for her shopping, and I give her a random amount of change upto £4 because that’s what she thinks her shopping costs.

Last week it was nearly £65.  The truth is in 2024 she can’t afford the little luxuries she gets pleasure from, but I make sure she still gets them.

The point is I hate tescos business model And you won’t ever change my mind.  I will stick to the Co-op and wish we had shoprite back because their pricing was at least transparent and consistent.

 

Edited March 13 by CrazyDave