Supermarkets discussion

[Iskra]

How are the market shares of your supermarkets going?

I assume Tesco is #1, Sainsburys #2 perhaps, then Morrisons? Aldi? Asda Waitrose? Poundland? What percentage of sales does each have?

Which ones use rail extensively? I know Tesco does as I've seen its freight trains, and Les Gilpin Railways on YouTube often films these.

Which ones have private sidings?

Do any never use rail?

The rail element of this post might be best as a separate thread in one of the rail areas of the forum; some interesting questions there which would probably be better answered by those with operational knowledge.

 

[railfan99]

The rail element of this post might be best as a separate thread in one of the rail areas of the forum; some interesting questions there which would probably be better answered by those with operational knowledge.

OK. I will take your advice. Thanks.

 

[Hadders]

How are the market shares of your supermarkets going?

I assume Tesco is #1, Sainsburys #2 perhaps, then Morrisons? Aldi? Asda Waitrose? Poundland? What percentage of sales does each have?

In the 12 weeks ending 12th May Grocery Market Share was:

Grocery Market Share - Worldpanel by Numerator

www.kantarworldpanel.com

 

[dgl]

Always amazing to think that the Tesco have nearly the same market share as their two nearest rivals combined, just 0.6% difference!

 

[jon0844]

Does Tesco include their other brands like Premier, Budgen, One Stop, or is that included under 'other'? In any case, Tesco may well be supplying a lot of independents too.

 

[dgl]

Quite, Tesco have their hands in a lot of pies and supply a lot more than some people think.

 

[ChrisC]

Couldn't tell you the last time I spent any money in poundland. The fact that hardly anything is a pound now and that they often work out more expensive for what I want to buy. Has a great deal to do with this

I very rarely go into the discount stores these days as I can almost always get what I want more cheaply elsewhere and often in a much pleasanter shopping environment. The discount stores like Poundland, Home Bargains and B&M certainly sell many branded products at a reduced price, although they are not anywhere near as reduced as they were a few years ago before these shops became more widespread and more popular. If you are someone who will only buy branded products then there is sometimes money to be saved. If you are quite happy buying supermarkets own brands then even the more upmarket supermarkets like Waitrose and M&S nearly always sell their usually high quality own branded items at a significantly lower price than the branded equivalents are now selling for in the discount stores.

 

[route101]

I was in a Carrefour in France recently and its like a step up from a Tesco Extra, loads of choice. One slight niggle, don't expect to find a cold drink! Something I have noticed in parts of Europe, chilled soft drinks can be hard to come by.

 

[takno]

I was in a Carrefour in France recently and its like a step up from a Tesco Extra, loads of choice. One slight niggle, don't expect to find a cold drink! Something I have noticed in parts of Europe, chilled soft drinks can be hard to come by.

To be fair a moderately sized Sainsbury's is a step up from a Tesco Extra in terms of choice. Tesco have never had a particularly extensive range

 

[GusB]

Speaking of Sainsbury's, is Savacentre (I think it was called that) still a thing? When I lived in Edinburgh, the closest supermarket was at Cameron Toll - I knew it had some Sainsbury's connection, but it wasn't branded as such.

 

[Busaholic]

Speaking of Sainsbury's, is Savacentre (I think it was called that) still a thing? When I lived in Edinburgh, the closest supermarket was at Cameron Toll - I knew it had some Sainsbury's connection, but it wasn't branded as such.

No, because it was a joint operation with BHS until the latter failed, whereupon some continued under Sainsbury's management alone until they were subsumed into the brand.

 

[GusB]

No, because it was a joint operation with BHS until the latter failed, whereupon some continued under Sainsbury's management alone until they were subsumed into the brand.

Thanks. I hadn't been aware of the BHS connection.

 

[takno]

No, because it was a joint operation with BHS until the latter failed, whereupon some continued under Sainsbury's management alone until they were subsumed into the brand.

AIUI the whole thing only lasted a few years and was all over 10 years before BHS went bust. Certainly the Cammy Toll one was an ordinary Sainsbury's by the time I moved there about 20 years ago, and there was a free-standing BHS further up the arcade (it's an Aldi now)

 

[Kite159]

Ugh. They're really a bit too dodgy to regularly buy much from anyway - too much of the stuff is available for less in normal shops, or turns out to be factory seconds for reasons that are uncomfortably obvious when you get it home.

Their meal deals are okay if you're in places like Clapham Junction, but I'm not willing to pass some loyalty test to get one. I already had to give up on Boots when they tried it on their meal deals, although they seem to have quickly given up on it.

Boots still have the two tier pricing on meal deals, at least in the stores outside London and away from stations (where they charge more). £3,60 or £3,99 without.

Although I'm 90% sure they also have the two tier pricing in London & station stores which charge the premium, but I don't even bother looking now as I'm not paying the station premium

 

[takno]

Boots still have the two tier pricing on meal deals, at least in the stores outside London and away from stations (where they charge more). £3,60 or £3,99 without.

Although I'm 90% sure they also have the two tier pricing in London & station stores which charge the premium, but I don't even bother looking now as I'm not paying the station premium

Oh, I wouldn't dream of using them outside of travel locations, and they don't seem to have it at airports. Tbh I don't think I've bought food at a station one since. I just assumed it was gone.

 

[52290]

Quite, Tesco have their hands in a lot of pies and supply a lot more than some people think.

That's why I would never buy pies from Tesco.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Lidl have been caught up in a germ scandal regarding chicken and E-Coli.

An independent laboratory in Germany has claimed to find that more than half of the fresh chicken products sold in Lidl GB 'contain antibiotic-resistant superbugs.'The products were purchased in 5 different stores across the UK. The lab alleged these findings:

Multi-resistant bacteria (ESBL or MRSA) on 23 products (57.5%) - bacteria that no longer respond to certain antimicrobial treatment, making infections difficult or impossible to treat,
Faecal bacteria E-Coli on 19 products (47.5%) - a strand of which recently caused more than a hundred people in the UK to become ill, and Listeria on 12 products (30%).However, Lidl has since countered these claims and said: "In the last 12 months there have been no micro-related deviations outside of legal levels".

The report, commissioned by several animal welfare charities, including Open Cages, examined the following: "40 fresh chicken products sold in Lidl’s UK stores under its flagship “Birchwood British” chicken brand."“The presence of multi-resistant bacteria in meat is a worrying trend and represents a serious public health concern”, says Timothy Walsh, Professor of Medical Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance at the University of Oxford.Lidl deny findings: "Food safety is a priority for our business"

A spokesperson for Lidl said: "Food safety is a priority for our business and all products are subject to extensive quality controls throughout the supply chain. We work closely with our suppliers and a multitude of industry partners, aligning our policies with the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) and the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA) to ensure the responsible and RUMA-recommended use of antibiotics while ensuring animal welfare remains a priority.“People can get ill from processing and consuming contaminated meat, and the use of human antibiotics in animal production can have a profound long-term effect on the effectiveness of antibiotics to treat human infections.” "Our own testing shows that in the last 12 months, there have been no micro-related deviations outside of legal levels, and no concerns have been raised to us by any regulatory bodies on this topic. It’s therefore evident and extremely concerning that Open Cages continues to disseminate false and inaccurate information, with the apparent aim of garnering media attention and both scaremongering and misleading the public.

"If Open Cages has any real and verified concerns regarding the presence of pathogens in fresh British chicken, we encourage it to work with verified sources and share its complete findings with either ourselves or with the FSA for further investigation."Professor Walsh continued: “Poor animal welfare is one of the major catalysts for the use of antibiotics and subsequent drivers of antibiotic resistance.

"Improving animal welfare, such as adopting slower-growing breeds in line with the Better Chicken Commitment, can significantly reduce the need for antibiotics to be given to the birds in the first place.

"UK supermarkets have a responsibility and obligation to ensure that the meat sold is safe for consumption and free from antibiotic-resistant pathogens.”
According to experts like Professor Walsh, one of the major causes of resistant bacteria in chicken meat is the use of fast-growing breeds - a practice which is criticised by animal welfare charities like Open Cages.What is the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC)?

In March, Lidl announced it would improve its chicken welfare standards.

The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) is a set of welfare measures designed by animal welfare specialists, that prohibits the use of fast-growing breeds.

Connor Jackson, CEO of Open Cages, told Newsquest: “By Lidl’s own admission, their internal testing didn’t pick up on the massive amounts of dangerous bacteria the independent laboratory of scientists found.

"This is unsurprising, given how poor the conditions are on their chicken farms too. Lidl’s approach to its chicken supply chain seems to be all about looking the other way and then shooting the messenger when the reality is exposed. Lidl also claims to be open to discussing the findings with us.
"However, I reached out to Lidl several times over the past few months asking for a meeting. They never replied.”

‘Serious’ concerns raised after study claims to find 'superbugs in Lidl meat'

The test examined 40 fresh chicken products sold in Lidl’s UK stores under its flagship “Birchwood British” chicken brand.

www.thenational.scot

 

[takno]

Lidl have been caught up in a germ scandal regarding chicken and E-Coli.

‘Serious’ concerns raised after study claims to find 'superbugs in Lidl meat'

The test examined 40 fresh chicken products sold in Lidl’s UK stores under its flagship “Birchwood British” chicken brand.

www.thenational.scot

Sounds like a radical pressure group trying to make something out of nothing, and getting it printed in one of Britain's lamest attempts at a newspaper.

How much of these scary-sounding bacteria was actually present in the samples, was it enough to cause illness in humans, and are they, in common with most bacteria, killed by cooking? This is chicken remember - if you don't want a dose of salmonella you'll definitely not be wanting to eat it raw.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Sounds like a radical pressure group trying to make something out of nothing, and getting it printed in one of Britain's lamest attempts at a newspaper.

How much of these scary-sounding bacteria was actually present in the samples, was it enough to cause illness in humans, and are they, in common with most bacteria, killed by cooking? This is chicken remember - if you don't want a dose of salmonella you'll definitely not be wanting to eat it raw.

The Food Standards Agency believes lettuce to be the source of it.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) told Sky News it is "too early to determine" how the lettuce leaves may have become contaminated - but it is "confident" that is the source.

Three companies have recalled dozens of sandwiches and wraps sold at supermarkets as a precautionary measure.

So how can lettuce end up carrying E.coli - and does this mean a summer without salad?

How could it happen?

There are three main ways lettuce leaves could have been contaminated with E.coli, according to Professor Jim Monaghan, professor of crop science at Harper Adams University in Shropshire.

E.coli "essentially wants to be inside the guts of warm-blooded animals", he says, but pathogenic strains can be found in between 10-15% of dairy herds - which means a minority of manure is contaminated with it.

That manure - and the E.coli it carries - can end up on lettuce leaves in cases of direct contamination.

In cases of indirect contamination, the bacteria may get into the soil or water and be transferred to the lettuce that way.

E-coli: Source of outbreak believed to have been found

The Food Standards Agency says it is "confident" lettuce leaves are the source of the outbreak. Sky News looks at how the food item can end up carrying E.coli - and whether this means a summer without salad.

news.sky.com

(This story is also in all the newspapers you'd expect.)

 

[Busaholic]

Bit of a rare story now this morning (thank goodness) down in the far S.W. with an armed robbery at Sainsbury's in Penzance involving a knife-wielding moped rider and a security company guard threatened with a knife. He got away with £35k according to reliable, but unconfirmed, reports. He was probably taking advantage of a road closure close to the police station which would have added at least three minutes to the police response, and the well-known fact locally that the local police force is down to numbers probably as low as seen for two centuries.

 

[takno]

The Food Standards Agency believes lettuce to be the source of it.

E-coli: Source of outbreak believed to have been found

The Food Standards Agency says it is "confident" lettuce leaves are the source of the outbreak. Sky News looks at how the food item can end up carrying E.coli - and whether this means a summer without salad.

news.sky.com

(This story is also in all the newspapers you'd expect.)

Obviously I'm not questioning that there was a e-coli outbreak last week which was identified days ago as coming from lettuce. That's got nothing to do with the rubbish about Lidl chicken you posted

 

[Acey]

Seems like Amazons general free delivery minimum spend has risen from £25 to £35 ,they really want you to sign up to Prime !

 

[cactustwirly]

Lidl have been caught up in a germ scandal regarding chicken and E-Coli.

‘Serious’ concerns raised after study claims to find 'superbugs in Lidl meat'

The test examined 40 fresh chicken products sold in Lidl’s UK stores under its flagship “Birchwood British” chicken brand.

www.thenational.scot

Raw meat contains bacteria, that's why it's cooked.

Lidl will be using a third party supplier, who probably supplies multiple supermarkets.
They will have strict controls on hygiene and processes to minimise contamination.

As they have said their own microbiology tests are within the limits. This doesn't mean they are bacteria free as this is impossible

 

[dangie]

Some years ago on a TV documentary Iceland were criticised for not saying their pies may contain horse meat. The boss of Iceland defended the company by saying ‘We don’t say it may contain zebra either…’

 

[takno]

Some years ago on a TV documentary Iceland were criticised for not saying their pies may contain horse meat. The boss of Iceland defended the company by saying ‘We don’t say it may contain zebra either…’

I guess the horsemeat thing was before Aldi got really big, when Iceland was still the lazy comedian go-to for a cheap supermarket. Really sucked for them since they were one of the few UK supermarkets that didn't turn out to have any horsemeat in their products

 

[johnnychips]

I guess the horsemeat thing was before Aldi got really big, when Iceland was still the lazy comedian go-to for a cheap supermarket. Really sucked for them since they were one of the few UK supermarkets that didn't turn out to have any horsemeat in their products

A good horse steak is sublime. Is it illegal for supermarkets (or anyone) to sell it in Britain or just a cultural thing? For example, supermarkets don’t sell goat, but I can get it at Sheffield market.

 

[jfollows]

Cultural, not illegal I don’t think.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21043368 is an old article

Why are the British revolted by the idea of horsemeat?​

• • Published
    18 January 2013

Horsemeat has been found in beefburgers on sale in UK and Irish Republic supermarkets. But why do the British have such a revulsion over the idea of eating horsemeat?
The discovery of horse DNA in burgers in major supermarkets such as Tesco and Iceland has been met with alarm among consumers.
Horse-eating, or hippophagy, spread in Europe in the 19th Century, after famines caused several governments to license horse butcheries.
The meat is still commonly consumed in France and Belgium, as well as parts of Central Asia and South America.
So why are the British so squeamish about eating horse?
There is no real logic as to why plenty of Britons are perfectly willing to eat cows, pigs, and chickens, but see horses as taboo, according to Dr Roger Mugford, an animal psychologist who runs the Animal Behaviour Centre.
"I'm a farmer and there is an irony. Why are horses different from pigs and lambs?" he says.
Part of the reason is people frequently see horses as pets, and humans tend to put "extra qualities and values" on animals they call pets, he says.
"As soon as you give an animal a name, how can you eat it? I've got lambs, sheep, with names - they live forever. I don't name the commercial flock, which won't," he says.
History is also responsible for attitudes towards horses, according to Mugford.
"Horses helped out in warfare. There have been huge sacrifices alongside riders in historic battles. And there are sentimental depictions like War Horse," he says.
Their widespread use as working animals has had a lasting effect, argues food historian Ivan Day.
"We have to remember at one point, before railways, horses were the main means of transport. You don't eat your Aston Martin," he says.
Food historian Dr Annie Gray agrees the primary reasons for not eating horses were "their usefulness as beast of burden, and their association with poor or horrid conditions of living".
She suspects the practical considerations have become so embedded in culinary norms that horseflesh has garnered emotional connotations.
But all of the above reasons apply as much to France as they do to the UK. There must be more to it.
"It enables us to have yet another point of difference with the French," says Gray.
"Beef has long been symbolic of Englishness and therefore anything we can do or say to put British beef on a pedestal is usually done - ergo the thought that the French eat horse while we eat good beef becomes a chauvinistic way of asserting national identity," she says.
Gray, who lived in France for three years, says for her, it is completely natural to eat horsemeat as it was sold at her local butcher.
"I am far more concerned with where the food is from. I would far rather eat ethically sourced, well-cared for horse, than battery chicken, for example," she says.
So are attitudes changing at all?
Peta says the thought of unexpectedly tucking into a horse burger has "rightly shocked the nation". But it says Britons who say "neigh" to horsemeat do so only because they find ponies "cute".
"Why is one species cherished while another is spurned? If this story has shocked people, they should consider leaving all flesh off their plates and going vegan," it says.
Rather than seeing them as "cute", others may be more inclined to think of horses as majestic, or associate them with nobility.
The killing of horses for meat is still an emotive subject as many people see them as companion animals rather than a food source, according to the RSPCA.
But the proliferation of horsemeat jokes on Twitter suggests other people are seeing the lighter side of the story.

 

[SuspectUsual]

A good horse steak is sublime. Is it illegal for supermarkets (or anyone) to sell it in Britain or just a cultural thing? For example, supermarkets don’t sell goat, but I can get it at Sheffield market.

It isn't illegal to either sell or eat horsemeat in the UK, but there's very, very little demand for it

 

[route101]

It isn't illegal to either sell or eat horsemeat in the UK, but there's very, very little demand for it

I do see Horse steaks sold in Europe in the supermarkets.

 

[D6130]

I do see Horse steaks sold in Europe in the supermarkets.

Yes....they're very popular in Belgium, France and parts of Italy. There are even specialist horsemeat restaurants!