ALDI euro items cheaper than sterling

donedub

I've been an Aldi shopper for years - long before it was trendy to shop there :-) but I was concerned to notice in their Special Buys this week (14th Sep 14) that the 24" frying pan with lid was cheaper in euro - € 11.99 than pounds - £12.99. £12.99 equates to approx €15.65. So why are UK shoppers paying extra ? Anyone else notice this?

MrJester

donedub wrote: »

I've been an Aldi shopper for years - long before it was trendy to shop there :-) but I was concerned to notice in their Special Buys this week (14th Sep 14) that the 24" frying pan with lid was cheaper in euro - € 11.99 than pounds - £12.99. £12.99 equates to approx €15.65. So why are UK shoppers paying extra ? Anyone else notice this?

I think its a very common occurrence from most companies, e.g. Apple iPhone's are consistently different actual prices depending on the currency, they go with what price makes sense to them from a marketing POV.
Maybe you should pop in with some Euro notes then? :P

London50

I agree with JoeJester be it either the price in Euros or with USA Dollars, still I believe it is cheaper than paying to go to a {in this case} Euro zone to get it at the Euro rate :0)

mije1983

Lower taxes/rents/staff wages/transport costs etc etc?

It may be just the market here is able to sustain higher prices than elsewhere, and judging by the fact more and more people are shopping there, I'd say it can!

Even if all costs were equal, there is nothing to say businesses have to charge an equivalent rate in all of the countries that they operate. In fact they can, and do, even charge more in certain stores within the same country/currency.

MrJester

mije1983 wrote: »

Lower taxes/rents/staff wages/transport costs etc etc?

It may be just the market here is able to sustain higher prices than elsewhere, and judging by the fact more and more people are shopping there, I'd say it can!

Even if all costs were equal, there is nothing to say businesses have to charge an equal rate in all of the countries that they operate.

^ Sadly, this is true, I've no doubt one day this will get out of hand, and law will step in to put down restrictions.

peachyprice

It's called a free market economy.

bap98189

donedub wrote: »

So why are UK shoppers paying extra ? Anyone else notice this?

Because Aldi is a German company and conducts its business in Euros. By selling the item in GBP, they are a) incurring additional costs and b) exposing themselves to currency risk.

Money-Saving-King

bap98189 wrote: »

Because Aldi is a German company and conducts its business in Euros. By selling the item in GBP, they are a) incurring additional costs and b) exposing themselves to currency risk.

This. It's nothing to be with peoples theories of things being worse in the UK than anywhere else. Companies will charge what people can afford to pay, they'll test to see what brings the most profits. If things cost too much people will stop buying. It's the same in exactly every other country. The only thing that will make any difference is if one country has more disposable income than another.

George_Michael

donedub wrote: »

So why are UK shoppers paying extra ? Anyone else notice this?

You could just as easily ask why do some supermarket chains have different prices depending on where the store is located or why does the price of a pint of beer vary so much depending on where you are drinking.

If customers are willing to pay the prices, this is what the retailers will continue to charge.

keyser666

Trendy to shop there? Dont make me laugh

peter_the_piper

So if they offer prices in euro's, whats to stop you paying in Euro's?