Its official - Discounters are NOT cheaper...

davester

wookie wrote: »

I have just priced up a organic beef box from a farmer in the peak district and with dell its priced at £43 for over 8kg of organic beef.

Dell sell meat? I thought they only beefed up their top end Computers, :rotfl:

Seriously I have a Tesco and a lidl in the same place 2 mins walk from each other, so shop in both. Tesco for some stuff and Lidl for the other stuff. So we can mix and match on prices of items.
We have a 1 pound shop to there so, yeah kinda lucky as its 5 mins walk from my house:D

Biggles

Interestingly, Which? magazine did their own - independent - survey this week. They are very careful (unlike 'The Grocer'?) about choosing like-for-like items for comparison purposes.

The big supermarkets came out at around £50 for their 'basket'. Aldi, Lidl & Netto were all around £39. I think that says it all, both about the supermarkets and about The Grocer.

I'll pass the link on, as it doesn't seem to be 'members only'.
http://www.which.co.uk/advice/supermarket-price-comparison/which-supermarket-price-comparison/index.jsp

suzi_69

I read this on the front page of the internet & although I didn't see the list of items, I could tell by the wording of the article that they were comparing "apples to oranges"!!

Anyone who shops at Aldi/Lidl/Netto knows that they sell lots of quality items cheaply & to pit them against the shoddy "value" ranges that the supermarkets sell is ludicrous!! I hope that whoever wrote that article is made to print an apology, cos IMHO, its grossly misleading!

I will definitely still shop at Aldi for some things & Asda for others. I'm a grown adult with eyes in my head & I can read how much items are priced up at other places, so I know whats a good price & what isn't!!

Hopefully it'll leave the quality bargains in shops like Aldi for us "in the know"!;)

But seriously, I hope that it doesn't put people of trying places like Aldi, cos for lots of people in this credit crunch situation, every penny counts & they could save a lot, if they know where to go.

Peartree

pennymakespounds wrote: »

I've been in this industry all my life .. and saw the full comparison in the trade press this morning.

Very unfortunate / unfair publicity for the discounters ... shows them in a bad light ... but it's all to do with quality ... the comparisons are just not "like for like" .

Most are comparing "value / basics" .. with the discounters brand .. when their quality is more like tesco/sains brand ..or even "finest".

To compare tesco value tea bags at 28p with aldi's at £1.19 ... or tesco value toilet rolls 43p with Aldi quality rolls at £1.45 is very unfair .

They're even comparing decent ordinary wine with Lambrusco !

Interesting there are no products for Tesco where they have shown their newly introduced "discounter brand" .. which they brought out in order to compete with Aldi !!

I'm amazed the grocer magazine allowed this publicity . .. although a lot of the article does discuss that the quality comparisons are very differrent

Each to their own as always ... for my shopping it's Aldi/lidl and Morrisons
that gets me the best qualities at the lowest cost .. overall.

Couldn't have said it better! I find it rather insulting that they assume that those of us who choose to buy items in Aldi and the like would go into the supermarket and automatically head for the Basics ranges on everything! My shopping decisions are on the basis of quality and value - not CHEAP!

Peartree

dillydilly wrote: »

Press Association news article today -

is this the perception of this forum ? I visit the three discounters regularly as part of my job as well the the big supers and it amazes me that shoppers believe the hype on discounters. Tesco sells over 10 times more groceries than either of the three discounters - that gives them an awful lot more buying power. How can the discounters possibly undercut the big boys long term with just 2% market share each, even if they choose to take lower margins. The 'stack it high sell it cheap' mantra doesn't transfer to that much cost savings - the efficiencies of running over 500 superstores far outweighs that benefit.

And, Dillydilly, it amazes ME that so many shoppers are so completely taken in by the hype of the major supermarkets. But then, we've seen again and again on these boards how some people's sense of identity is tied up with where they shop.

Like all the sensible people posting here, I'll carry on doing what I've always done. I'll make a decision on quality by reading the labels myself (not looking at the price or the 'basics/brand/finest' tag) and then I'll work out where I'm getting the best value for that quality be it Aldi/Lidl, one of the majors, or M&S/Waitrose/Booths.

If you're not interested in taste or quality and only want 'cheap'. Well, you pays your money and makes your choice! If you feel pleased at having avoided the hype whilst you use your value tea bags, your value toilet rolls and your lambrusco, then that's your choice.

moggylover

Peartree wrote: »

And, Dillydilly, it amazes ME that so many shoppers are so completely taken in by the hype of the major supermarkets. But then, we've seen again and again on these boards how some people's sense of identity is tied up with where they shop.

Like all the sensible people posting here, I'll carry on doing what I've always done. I'll make a decision on quality by reading the labels myself (not looking at the price or the 'basics/brand/finest' tag) and then I'll work out where I'm getting the best value for that quality be it Aldi/Lidl, one of the majors, or M&S/Waitrose/Booths.

If you're not interested in taste or quality and only want 'cheap'. Well, you pays your money and makes your choice! If you feel pleased at having avoided the hype whilst you use your value tea bags, your value toilet rolls and your lambrusco, then that's your choice.

Course there are those that can only afford Value brands!;)

Personally I find many of them equally as good as the brand names - and just for your info - I buy Value tea bags because I actually like them:D - the brand I cannot stand and that actually puts my teeth on edge trying to sip it if people serve it is PG Tips! You can always tell it's PG it is that disgusting orange colour (need a shudding smilie!).

ChrisCar_2

I food shop based on quality (if it don't taste good, what's the point of buying it) and Aldi is getting more and more of my cash.
Sainsburys and Tesco is getting less and less. Though I admit I've never had the urge to try any of their budget ranges.
Asda usually starts good with a new product, then goes downhill as it tries to cut corners.

After reading this tread and having a quick look at The Grocer, which I buy occasionally, the two things that comes across to me is -
a) the big boys are getting worried and
b) The Grocer has gone down in my opinion, that is not what I'd call unbaised reporting.

As an aside, did anyone else have trouble getting a copy of The Grocer today?
I found a copy in WHSmith, all the copies on the shelf were marked as "Retailer's copy, not for resale"
It went through the till at 20p, the cashier questioned it and the manager put it through at it's normal price.

Clowance

In my opinion you have to be selective about what you buy in lidl/aldi. I think most people do not realise the amount of money they waste if they stick to one supermarket/discounter for all their shopping: in other words they pay for convenience. It may even be cheaper in the end to get it delivered as they wont be tempted by impulse buys.

Lidl and Aldi are dear for the few branded goods that they sell and as far as I can see seldom discount them (eg bread) but cheap for a lot of other stuff like veg: so if possible, people should get what they can there and then move on to a supermarket for the rest.

Obviously it is also necessary to keep the price of goods in your head: if you dont you will get ripped off.

Nickygoat

Biggles wrote: »

Interestingly, Which? magazine did their own - independent - survey this week. They are very careful (unlike 'The Grocer'?) about choosing like-for-like items for comparison purposes.

The big supermarkets came out at around £50 for their 'basket'. Aldi, Lidl & Netto were all around £39. I think that says it all, both about the supermarkets and about The Grocer.

I'll pass the link on, as it doesn't seem to be 'members only'.
http://www.which.co.uk/advice/supermarket-price-comparison/which-supermarket-price-comparison/index.jsp

What I found astonishing about that report is the price of Nescaf!.

I buy fresh beans from Monmouth and Hasbean which I'd always assumed to be a bit more expensive than the crap in the supermarkets, while accepting the trade off that the coffee was a lot better.

Looking at that report it seems that Nescaf! is more than £20 a kilo while the stuff I get is less than that - for an infinitely better product (Hasbean's premium espresso blend is £12/kg).

Not to mention the benefits of supporting an independent business and helping the farmers themselves.

lilac_lady

I shop in Llidls, the big supermarkets and on occasion M & S's food store. I judge by taste, buy what I like to eat and won't be swayed by marketing hype from any retailer.

BTW, I haven't noticed Mr T, Mr A or Mr S being cheaper than the discount stores.