Supermarkets discussion

[route101]

Despite rumours to the contrary, my experience is that supermarkets on the continent often seem to be much more officious when it comes to security and the checkout experience. experience.

Yes, try going into a big supermarket in France with a back pack. Either they will ask you to put it in locker or put a tag on the zip.

 

[Railwaycat]

Normally only use Tesco's cafe for breakfast (love the shakshuka), but had dinner in there yesterday (the wife's away!), the scampi, chips and mushy peas was excellent - chips crisp on the outside, fluffy in the middle (not greasy at all and a nice size, not to big), scampi the same, plenty of them, large and tasty. Just £8.95 - only complaint was too many chips (in a bowl), a bit wasteful, I noticed a few bowls with chips in that had been left on tables.

 

[LW84]

I'm of the thought that Sainsbury's putting a bread slicer for customers to use on their ISB bread range is a new thing, never seen that before!

 

[skyhigh]

I'm of the thought that Sainsbury's putting a bread slicer for customers to use on their ISB bread range is a new thing, never seen that before!

At least one Sainsbury's store has had that for over 10 years now.

 

[Bald Rick]

At least one Sainsbury's store has had that for over 10 years now.

I‘m sure I used one in Sainsburys in the late 80s.

 

[DannyMich2018]

I visited Asda Hinckley last night just after 20.00, not impressed, Kiosk shuts at 20.00 so no one can buy cigarettes, lottery, do exchanges etc, some aisles were totally impassable due to pallets and cages blocking them, no staffed tills open, annoyingly loud music been played which repeated itself.

 

[david1212]

Recent weeks some lines have been missing in Aldi not just one week but for several. Hence Friday went into Lidl. I did get all on my list including one of the last two items available but some of the freezer section was very bare.

 

[Mugby]

Recent weeks some lines have been missing in Aldi not just one week but for several. Hence Friday went into Lidl. I did get all on my list including one of the last two items available but some of the freezer section was very bare.

Yes, I've noticed this too, particularly since the start of the current year, many food items are constanly unavailable and the middle aisles are either empty or stocked with utter rubbish. It's very puzzling and incovenient, in fact it gives the impression of a business which is struggling!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Yes, I've noticed this too, particularly since the start of the current year, many food items are constanly unavailable and the middle aisles are either empty or stocked with utter rubbish. It's very puzzling and incovenient, in fact it gives the impression of a business which is struggling!

Aldi's actually a fair bit bigger than Lidl in the UK at the moment.

 

[stadler]

Aldi's actually a fair bit bigger than Lidl in the UK at the moment.

Not any more. They are basically the same exact size these days. Aldi currently has 1,044 stores across England and Wales and Scotland. Lidl currently has 973 stores across England and Wales and Scotland. So that is a difference of 71 stores.

Additionally it is worth noting that Lidl has 41 stores in Northern Ireland but Aldi have none. For some odd reason they have avoided it. So if you add those then Aldi only have 30 more stores than Lidl have across all four UK provinces.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Not any more. They are basically the same exact size these days. Aldi currently has 1,044 stores across England and Wales and Scotland. Lidl currently has 973 stores across England and Wales and Scotland. So that is a difference of 71 stores.

Additionally it is worth noting that Lidl has 41 stores in Northern Ireland but Aldi have none. For some odd reason they have avoided it. So if you add those then Aldi only have 30 more stores than Lidl have across all four UK provinces.

Interesting, thank you. I can't stand either of them, but Aldi would win by a whisker. There always seems to be a really pungent smell that hits me when I walk into a Lidl store, it reminds me of Mercadona in Spain.

 

[Lewisham2221]

There always seems to be a really pungent smell that hits me when I walk into a Lidl store

Glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that! Aldi also wins for me - something about it just feels better quality overall, everything about Lidl just feels very low budget.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that! Aldi also wins for me - something about it just feels better quality overall, everything about Lidl just feels very low budget.

Yes, I’m very sensitive to smells and made the mistake of going to a Cardiff store hungover once, was having difficulty not audibly retching.

 

[Harpo]

Recent weeks some lines have been missing in Aldi not just one week but for several.

That’s always been an Aldi characteristic. I’ve assumed it’s single-sourcing glitches as so many products have no alternatives. I’ve a small mental list of things to grab when I see them, mostly liquids.

Aldi has improved on seasonal availability as stores expand to four aisles. Stuff no longer disappears in the autumn to make space for ‘Christmas’ products with mid-December expiry dates.

 

[E502]

Yes, I've noticed this too, particularly since the start of the current year, many food items are constanly unavailable and the middle aisles are either empty or stocked with utter rubbish. It's very puzzling and incovenient, in fact it gives the impression of a business which is struggling!

Good old Brexit! There's three words you don't often see in the same sentence....

 

[alex397]

I really struggle to understand Sainsbury’s and how they attract customers.

It seems it’s not as cheap as Aldi/Lidl, but the quality is certainly not as good as Waitrose/M&S. They often have empty shelves and stock unavailability.
My local Canterbury Sainsbury’s is also a filthy tip, I’ve never know such a dirty supermarket, both inside and out. It also attracts a lot of vile anti-social behaviour from the local estate that the security guards are unable to deal with, because they have no powers. The police never turn up ever, obviously. That seems fairly common in British supermarkets though.

So, I mainly go to the Asda in Canterbury to avoid the drama. Got all of what I need mostly, and fairly reasonably priced.

 

[SteveM70]

Not any more. They are basically the same exact size these days. Aldi currently has 1,044 stores across England and Wales and Scotland. Lidl currently has 973 stores across England and Wales and Scotland. So that is a difference of 71 stores.

Additionally it is worth noting that Lidl has 41 stores in Northern Ireland but Aldi have none. For some odd reason they have avoided it. So if you add those then Aldi only have 30 more stores than Lidl have across all four UK provinces.

Depends how you measure it. Aldi has 10.3% market share, Lidl has 7.3%, so by that measure Aldi is 41% bigger than Lidl

 

[Peter Sarf]

I really struggle to understand Sainsbury’s and how they attract customers.

It seems it’s not as cheap as Aldi/Lidl, but the quality is certainly not as good as Waitrose/M&S. They often have empty shelves and stock unavailability.
My local Canterbury Sainsbury’s is also a filthy tip, I’ve never know such a dirty supermarket, both inside and out. It also attracts a lot of vile anti-social behaviour from the local estate that the security guards are unable to deal with, because they have no powers. The police never turn up ever, obviously. That seems fairly common in British supermarkets though.

So, I mainly go to the Asda in Canterbury to avoid the drama. Got all of what I need mostly, and fairly reasonably priced.

This (messy and antisocial "customers")is where the problem is not necessarily company specific - UNLESS they choose to move away from areas with a poorer demographic.

Having said that I was always struck with how my nearest Sainsburys always seemed to be out of stock on four or more items I wanted. That and them moving things around put me off going there. We have been a few times recently and the stock levels on the shelf seem better. The re-arranging of the store might now be less Or it might be less noticeable as I do not go so often.

My nearest supermarket is Morrisons and it is not as nice as it was. I now generally Morrisons have cut back on staff numbers (since the new owners).

I do not think the likes of Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons are competing with M&S and Waitrose on the quality (at a price) front. But I perceive them as above Aldi and Lidl - but not by much.

 

[MalaiseForever]

Just been to my local Asda express and it was like there was a famine. 80% of the shelf space must’ve been empty. Embarrassing.

Bring back the coop.

 

[SteveM70]

Having said that I was always struck with how my nearest Sainsburys always seemed to be out of stock on four or more items I wanted. That and them moving things around put me off going there. We have been a few times recently and the stock levels on the shelf seem better

It’s such a tightrope they’re walking, especially with fresh products. They want great availability, but not at the cost of excessive markdown and shrinkage.

When I was at the Coop the target for fresh availability was 98%, apart from (a) a smallish number of products that were seen as indispensable to a convenience store offer - white bread, semi-skimmed milk, that sort of stuff, and (b) key promotional lines

The reality is generally low to mid 90% availability across the store. There’s a link below to an article about it in the Grocer - too long to quote but highlighting Tesco improving to 94%

Availability improves at all the supermarkets except Asda

As the cost of living crisis recedes, supermarkets have done a better job in the past year at getting products on shelves

www.thegrocer.co.uk

The argument in convenience especially is that that’s enough, because demand is often highly transferable. Perfect availability (every article in stock in every store it’s ranged in, every minute the store is open) would be frighteningly expensive