Supermarkets in Shetland - prices, ethics and experiences

[Malcolm]

Bring back Didgy Hodge's that's what I say!

[Skunnered]

In a small community we cannot have street traders dictating who can have a shop and who can not.

They have been trying to do exactly that for decades.

[Kavi Ugl]

If I need to go to one of the supermarkets I try to go to the COOP because I'm led to believe it is a more ethical company but sadly today I ended up in Tesco and what shocked me was how close the Tesco brands look to the "real" brands.

 

Infact I picked up a packet of biscuits thinking they were the kind I was looking for only to notice at the last minute a small Tesco name stamped in the top corner of it.

 

Yesterday a work colleage was drinking from what I'd sworn was a tin of Red Bull only to discover it was a Tesco's own brand.

 

Talk about pushing it to the wire!.

[Ghostrider]

^^ Tesco also have their own "other" brands. The only thing on the packaging that lets you know that it is a Tesco own brand is the usually tiny lettering at the bottom on the label on the back of the packaging stating "Produced for Tesco....etc etc". It would seem that the "Brand name" on the packaging only exists as an invention of Tesco, and is a fact they seem to want kept hidden to the maximum possible.

 

I can't see any other purpose for it than hoping folk assume its just a regular open market brand they've not come across before.

[Spinner72]

Thats not a Tesco phenomenon, at the end of the day, almost everything is "made" by a small number of companies. Whether you buy baken beans, for example, you're almost certainly buying either HP or Heinz. They may have a CooP, Tescos, Morrisons, Saisbury's or any other label on the tin, but the contents don't change. You pay for the label..

 

 

(note - baked beans is an example! don't let this launch a bean side topic like the kettle did )

[Ghostrider]

^^ Yes, I know they're all at it to some degree, and I take your point that regardless of actual label, most generics are also made by the "brand names" they compete for shelf space with.

 

The thing is though, Tesco already have more than one variant of their "own brand" products, all of which have the "Tesco" brand logo emblazoned very prominently on the packaging. What purpose can yet another "own brand" variant serve, which goes to extreme lengths to hide the producer and logo details, unless to attempt to lead the prospective purchaser in to believing it is supplied by someone other than Tesco.

[daveh]

What does it matter if it is a good product and well-priced?

[Spinner72]

It doesn't matter at all.

 

Tescos multiple own brands are no different to Safeway Savers & CooP Everyday (both basic white packaging with Yellow label) and thier "normal" bran packaging which is designed to look like the more well known brands. I cant remember what Morrisons had, and dunno about Asda etc but if they are any different I'll eat my hat (if I can get a savers one, not eating the expensive one!)

 

Indeed, the same thing goes for "Lifestyle" and "Everyday" in many local shops.

 

Actually, thats a thing - I wonder how many local shops really are local shops anymore, as opposed to being part of the smaller shop chains like those?

 

At the end of the day, everything is driven by the consumer, or at least it should be. Thats the point I've really been trying to make all along, it is simply wrong that a small number of people can dictate whether the larger population has a range of options locally.

 

If anyone is flushing money "oot the sooth mooth", its the LTCA.

 

Just a thought - I wonder why the LTCA has never kicked up a fuss about Argos? Since the CooP stopped selling white goods they have been our most common purchase point. They recently moved out to the Greenhead too, was this due to these rules also?

[lerwick]

I wonder how many of the ltca members own property outwith Shetland , i know of a few. I even know of members that go on holiday and spend their profits. I dont think it helps our local ecconomy. If they can dictate what shops we can buy goods from we should be able to dictate where they spend their profits.

[muckleflugga]

I wonder how many of the ltca members own property outwith Shetland , i know of a few. I even know of members that go on holiday and spend their profits. I dont think it helps our local ecconomy. If they can dictate what shops we can buy goods from we should be able to dictate where they spend their profits.

 

and how many book holidays and flights locally,

[Spinner72]

If they can dictate what shops we can buy goods from we should be able to dictate where they spend their profits.

 

Thats an excellent observation and I would really like to hear any possible argument against it!

[Ghostrider]

What does it matter if it is a good product and well-priced?

 

It makes you highly suspicious of why they are so extremely reluctant to admit it is a product of theirs.

 

Nobody, especially a big operation like Tesco, goes to the trouble and expense of designing and producing an entirely different appearance of product label than their stock logo design, without there being a very good (usually financially beneficial to them) reason.

 

I do buy the product I am talking about, and am of the opinion it is reasonably good and reasonably priced. I would prefer to buy another brand, but the minute Tesco opened, my one local shop that stocked it till then stopped doing so, and this particular Tesco product is the next best I've found so far.

 

However, the fact that Tesco appear to have gone to some considerable length to hide the fact that the product is one of their own, would and will ensure that I will find it much easier to move on to another brand from elsewhere as soon as I find one that is anything near a similar quality and value.

 

The fact that the product in question gives the impression that either something is being hidden from the prospective purchaser, or that they are attempting to present an illusion to the prospective purchaser, just make me naturally leery of it, and highly reluctant to support and encourage such tactics by buying it, when there is any viable alternative.

[paulb]

they all do that its not just tescos. asda do it a lot.

[unlinkedstudent]

I can't help but wonder if the packaging is almost identical to the original branded good if it is a case of Tesco having it labelled with "produced for Tesco" under licence. Surely if this is not the case then somebody must have done them under copyright/trademark as many household named goods are protected under that legislation.

 

Loads of goods are produced under licence (many beers for example). In the same way, many Subway outlets and Costa Coffee outlets are franchised.

 

I did wonder about Tesco Digestives as I thought the name Digestives was protected. May be I should drop them (not Tesco!) a line and ascertain what the position is (might get a free box of biccies for my trouble if they were not aware but I doubt that they are not aware LOL).

[Spinner72]

^^ I was just noticing the same thing as I had my breakfast!

 

Canned mackrel in Tomato sauce, had both a coop and tescos can in the cupboard. Both very similar, both like the major name John West, and both have "Produced for xxxxxx" on the bottom. No indication of actual producer.

 

 

Probably both canned in Midyell