Good and bad buys from Aldi and Lidl

Doc_N

daveyjp wrote: »

I still haven't heard from any of the big 4 why they cannot compete with the Germans on price when if they are so much larger they should have much better buying power.

They do have better buying power. But they also have much higher costs as a result of stocking so many product varieties, customer service, larger car parks, toilets, more expensive stores/sites etc etc.

They also operate on much higher margins (partly because they have to because of the above).

They can reduce the margins to some extent to compete (and they are already on a few basic items) but unless they operate on the same economic model as Aldi/Lidl, cutting costs ruthlessly, they just cannot reduce their prices to the same extent. Which leaves them very vulnerable.

I suppose Tesco (or one of the others) could start a subsidiary 'discounter' of its own, operated on the same lines as Aldi/Lidl, and I'm sure they've considered it, but it would probably just cannibalise their own sales still further.

VfM4meplse

Doc_N wrote: »

They can reduce the margins to some extent to compete (and they are already on a few basic items) but unless they operate on the same economic model as Aldi/Lidl, cutting costs ruthlessly, they just cannot reduce their prices to the same extent. Which leaves them very vulnerable.

Tesco, vulnerable? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

daveyjp

Doc_N wrote: »

They do have better buying power. But they also have much higher costs as a result of stocking so many product varieties, customer service, larger car parks, toilets, more expensive stores/sites etc etc.

They also operate on much higher margins (partly because they have to because of the above).

They can reduce the margins to some extent to compete (and they are already on a few basic items) but unless they operate on the same economic model as Aldi/Lidl, cutting costs ruthlessly, they just cannot reduce their prices to the same extent. Which leaves them very vulnerable.

I suppose Tesco (or one of the others) could start a subsidiary 'discounter' of its own, operated on the same lines as Aldi/Lidl, and I'm sure they've considered it, but it would probably just cannibalise their own sales still further.

How does the large store argument stack up when you consider Tesco express, Sainsburys Local, Asda in ex Nettos and Morrisons Local which are all smaller, don't have huge product lines, don't have car parks, don't have toilets. From what I have found the local stores of the big four are more expensive than the large stores, yet with the above argument they should be cheaper.

fizzytrinket

Bought the Doritos copy from aldi today for about 70p. They were delicious. Prefer them to the real thing. Blue bag.

System

daveyjp wrote: »

How does the large store argument stack up when you consider Tesco express, Sainsburys Local, Asda in ex Nettos and Morrisons Local which are all smaller, don't have huge product lines, don't have car parks, don't have toilets. From what I have found the local stores of the big four are more expensive than the large stores, yet with the above argument they should be cheaper.

Sainsburys for one do for example something on BOGOF at their main stores and their local stores, have the same products at half price. This principle behind this is that the smaller supermarkets are designed to tie customers over with a few items until their main shop.

DCFC79

fizzytrinket wrote: »

Bought the Doritos copy from aldi today for about 70p. They were delicious. Prefer them to the real thing. Blue bag.

Yes Ive tried the blue bag and cheese doritos from Aldi and both were nice.

Happygreen

That was an interesting program to watch. Over the last few years I noticed that A & L now have many more branded items than they used to and that at very competitive prices (HP sauce for 99p last week). But certainly times have changed from when Lidl opened in our wee Scottish town and they were kind of brushed off as "they won't do well, it's just for cheap milk and bread" as if they were no competition to T (which in turn has been getting everybody cross by NOT building the bigger store they promised 10 years ago but instead removing the fresh fish counter, the only thing that was interesting (???)). I'd rather have the Aldi next to Lidl ,haha. I actually despair in a larger supermarket with all the choices, I get very irritable indeed and my feet hurt.... I'm very happy with a small store (or 2) with a smaller range and good prices.
Apologies for digressing away a bit from the products topic!

Peggybabcot

Doc_N wrote: »

I suppose Tesco (or one of the others) could start a subsidiary 'discounter' of its own, operated on the same lines as Aldi/Lidl, and I'm sure they've considered it, but it would probably just cannibalise their own sales still further.

Many years ago when I lived in Walthamstow in East London there was a subsidiary of ASDA called Dales at Tottenham Hale which was their discount brand. Very much like lidl and Aldi today, no frills just great prices. It's no longer there but given your comment it'll be interesting to see if ASDA roll out a discounter store again?

mcculloch29

Happygreen wrote: »

Funny in a way that A & L are such good news here as in Germany they are quite low on the spectrum. Messy, untidy but cheap. They also don't have a good reputation for treating their staff over there, scandals ranging from hidden cameras to low pay. They are quite a different story here and I'm very happy that they livened up the supermarket landscape in the last years! The big 4 have understood as much as that a lot of food has come down in price lately . Will watch that later, thanks!

It's over 20 years since I lived in Germany, but Lidl weren't really much of a discounter when I was there, they were a bit more upmarket. Great for fresh food, particularly fruit and veg.

Aldi had a similar set up as when they first came to the UK, many items on pallets, limited fresh food and meat. Good Specialbuys though. I still have a few items I bought as an Aldi 'Special' in Germany.

buglawton

Aldi apples turn out to be unexpectedly good this season.