Good and Bad Buying at Lidl and Aldi (***Please don't expire***)

Doc_N

A._Badger said:

Doc_N said:

A._Badger said:

Doc_N said:

PLRFD said:

Went Lidl today the 10 pack of stubby French beers are now an 8 pack but same price.

Blame Brexit. A direct outcome of the fall in the Pound. Applies to all imported goods.

Codswallop. Take a look at GBP vs the US Dollar. GBP/Euro rates may account for this particular price increase but that would be very hard to prove. 

This has nothing whatever to do with the Dollar (though the Pound's fallen substantially against that too since the referendum result - not sure what figures you're using!).  Everything to do with the Euro, against which the Pound has also fallen sharply.

Most imported goods now cost more since the Pound fell, and it fell immediately after the referendum result - it's certainly not codswallop to attribute the rising price of imported goods to the fall in the Pound after Brexit.  Codswallop is the stuff pushed out by the Leave campaigners on red buses assuring everyone that leaving would be great - now we're paying the price, and Brexit voters still haven't twigged on.

You claimed that all imports were affected by a 'falling pound'. This is completely untrue. Some imports may cost more, others will cost less. Imports from the USA or those transacted in US dollars (more than I suspect you realise) will have typically done rather well in the past six months. Want some numbers? $1,000 US would have got you £819.66 on 1st August (figures from Transferwise). Today it would get you £759. The Pound/Dollar rate has been very stable since January. 

Specifically, you have absolutely no idea why the pack of beer in question has risen in price and neither has anyone else except the manufacturer and the retailer. Perhaps the brewer has increased his price? Perhaps the retailer thinks he underpriced it? Did the shipping cost change? Are they pricing against a rival? Unless you are privy to the transaction you simply cannot know why it happened yet, as before on this forum, you again leapt at an excuse to rehearse the same old political points which might be relevant on one of the tiresome MSE forums where people like to ride their hobbyhorses ('the bus... the bus') but which is just boring and predictable on this one, which is supposed to be a discussion about food and grocery shopping. 





 

I think you need to read what I said again.  I carefully used the word 'most' - not 'all'.  A very small number of currencies (certainly not the major ones though such as the Dollar and the Euro) such as the Turkish Lira have fallen against the Pound - but they've fallen far more against major currencies.  The Pound, by any standards, has done very badly since the referendum, and try as you might you can't hide that - though Brexiteers still seem incapable of facing facts or reality, even when they're staring them in the face.

You're also carefully ignoring the period between the date of the referendum result (24 June 2016) and now when you look at the Dollar - it may well have risen lately, but since June 2016 there's a sharp fall, and that means that all imports priced in Dollars (oil for example) have cost us more.

Aldi and Lidl import a lot of goods from Europe - all of those now cost more, and we all have to pay for that.  These comments relate to a price increase on imported beer, but it applies to all imports.  Why do you continue to delude yourself?

[Deleted User]

For goodness sake! Brexit has happened, get over it or at least comment on an appropriate site! I joined this to find out the latest good and bad stuff about Lidl not the exchange rate!

Cornucopia

Yes - please keep on-topic.

Thanks.

Pollycat

I've decided I'm not going to buy Aldi premium sausages any more.

The skins are thick.

Had some Tesco Lincolnshire yesterday and they are far superior.

So we've dropped a brand and decided it's not worth it for this.

Doc_N

Pollycat said:

I've decided I'm not going to buy Aldi premium sausages any more.

The skins are thick.

Had some Tesco Lincolnshire yesterday and they are far superior.

So we've dropped a brand and decided it's not worth it for this.

Funnily enough, sausages and chipolatas are one of the very few things we don't buy from Aldi and Lidl.  Or Waitrose or any other supermarket for that matter. 

We've always found local butchers best, but sausages are always very much a personal choice,  aren't they. 

maman

heathered said:

For goodness sake! Brexit has happened, get over it or at least comment on an appropriate site! I joined this to find out the latest good and bad stuff about Lidl not the exchange rate!

I think these currency posts originated because there was a suggestion that Aldi prices are creeping up and blaming Aldi for them rather than the poor state of the pound. I'd say the main reason the majority of shoppers go to Aldi (and Lidl) is because of price so I'd say the posts are very relevant. 

A._Badger

maman said:

heathered said:

For goodness sake! Brexit has happened, get over it or at least comment on an appropriate site! I joined this to find out the latest good and bad stuff about Lidl not the exchange rate!

I think these currency posts originated because there was a suggestion that Aldi prices are creeping up and blaming Aldi for them rather than the poor state of the pound. I'd say the main reason the majority of shoppers go to Aldi (and Lidl) is because of price so I'd say the posts are very relevant. 

If Aldi's prices are creeping up against its competitors as some allege, it will be because the store has chosen to move up-market  (which I would agree it has). Aldi sells a higher proportion of UK-sourced products than many (one of its selling points, after all) so it would, logically, be less sensitive to the cost of imported goods, or at least no worse off.
If those who say it is moving up in price against the likes of Tesco and Asda are correct, I would suggest that is because they have cut prices to in an attempt to claw back customers (something Tesco has said it was doing) while Aldi is trying to pitch itself to a more mid-market customer base, which it does seem to be trying to do.

Pollycat

Doc_N said:

Pollycat said:

I've decided I'm not going to buy Aldi premium sausages any more.

The skins are thick.

Had some Tesco Lincolnshire yesterday and they are far superior.

So we've dropped a brand and decided it's not worth it for this.

Funnily enough, sausages and chipolatas are one of the very few things we don't buy from Aldi and Lidl.  Or Waitrose or any other supermarket for that matter. 

We've always found local butchers best, but sausages are always very much a personal choice,  aren't they. 

I'm seduced by the meat content stated on packaged sausages.

e.g. Tesco Finest pork sausages have 97% meat. I appreciate that 'meat' could be somewhat specious

Butchers sausages aren't labelled like that.

Wonder why not?

Doc_N

Pollycat said:

Doc_N said:

Pollycat said:

I've decided I'm not going to buy Aldi premium sausages any more.

The skins are thick.

Had some Tesco Lincolnshire yesterday and they are far superior.

So we've dropped a brand and decided it's not worth it for this.

Funnily enough, sausages and chipolatas are one of the very few things we don't buy from Aldi and Lidl.  Or Waitrose or any other supermarket for that matter. 

We've always found local butchers best, but sausages are always very much a personal choice,  aren't they. 

I'm seduced by the meat content stated on packaged sausages.

e.g. Tesco Finest pork sausages have 97% meat. I appreciate that 'meat' could be somewhat specious

Butchers sausages aren't labelled like that.

Wonder why not?

Good point. They are supposed to show the meat content by law though, and I’m sure decent butchers would do that. There’ll be a label by the tray of sausages.

What amazes me is the popularity of brands such as Richmond, with a meat content barely above the legal minimum of 42% for pork sausages. Maybe they just taste good? Never tried them, to be fair.

Pollycat

Doc_N said:

Pollycat said:

Doc_N said:

Pollycat said:

I've decided I'm not going to buy Aldi premium sausages any more.

The skins are thick.

Had some Tesco Lincolnshire yesterday and they are far superior.

So we've dropped a brand and decided it's not worth it for this.

Funnily enough, sausages and chipolatas are one of the very few things we don't buy from Aldi and Lidl.  Or Waitrose or any other supermarket for that matter. 

We've always found local butchers best, but sausages are always very much a personal choice,  aren't they. 

I'm seduced by the meat content stated on packaged sausages.

e.g. Tesco Finest pork sausages have 97% meat. I appreciate that 'meat' could be somewhat specious

Butchers sausages aren't labelled like that.

Wonder why not?

Good point. They are supposed to show the meat content by law though, and I’m sure decent butchers would do that. There’ll be a label by the tray of sausages.

What amazes me is the popularity of brands such as Richmond, with a meat content barely above the legal minimum of 42% for pork sausages. Maybe they just taste good? Never tried them, to be fair.

In fairness to butchers generally, I've not looked recently.

Re Richmond - I wouldn't agree that they are the 'nation's favourite sausage'. Not in my opinion. But it's many years since I tried them.

Someone complained to ASA re their claim:

The information provided confirmed that their research showed that Richmond Sausages was the highest ranked brand in Value and Unit sales in the Fresh Sausage category in Great Britain for a 52-week period, including July 2017.

https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/kerry-foods-limited-a17-394932.html

I wouldn't even use them for sausagemeat stuffing.