Supermarket Prices in Shetland

[VR665]

Tesco would more than likely stock their higher price goods not the budget lines. This is how they operate the Tesco Local stores on the mainland.

The logisitics of stocking a decent size Tesco store in Shetland would be extremely difficult, unless they operate their own shipping line, which they probably would!

 

As already mentioned (more than once!) they will destroy all local business, butchers, bakers, electrical, clothing, even insurance, opticians and so on. If Tesco see a gap in the market they will exploit it with their full power...watch out Goudies.....

 

Whilst goods are often very cheap (even below cost at times) you really do get what you pay for. The range available in Co-Op may be very small but we noticed quite a few items that were considerably cheaper than Tesco.

 

Letting Tesco etc. into Shetland would be a big mistake.....Lidl & Aldi are a waste of space.....IMO. Better option would be to get the existing supermarkets managed/staffed and operated more efficiently.

 

But what do I know? Well I did work for Tesco for a while so I've seen a little bit from the inside. I remember being on the shop floor after 11pm and struggling to find an English speaking member of staff, when you see what they pay their staff and what they expect in return its not surprising local people don't want to work for them....sound familiar?

 

[Guest Anonymous]

^^^^^

That is the sort of attitude that will ultimately result in higher prices for all.

 

I still struggle to see why people are so blinkered to the bullsquash advertising of the likes of Tesco.

They make higher profit margins, on most things they sell, than the 'Local Fatcats', mostly because of their massive buying power, but partly because they squeeze the suppliers/manufacturers into a situation where they gave no choice. And they pay minimum wages, or lower, although because so many people here in Shetland think they are great, they will have no shortage of staff.

 

Some people think that Tesco will maintain their UK pricing policy if they open a branch in Shetland. Those people are right, but only on the lines which they stock. How often will you hear the statement, "Sorry we don't stock that product in this branch, however we do have this alternative", the alternative being some overpriced hellery that they are making more profit on, to compensate for they few items which make them appear cheaper.

.

But, there is little or no point arguing this here, because a major percentage of posters here want less choice, and higher prices, so ultimately they deserve a Tesco.

Although as I'm sure these posters will agree, that any supermarket, even the 2 already in Shetland, has to be massively cheaper than a small local shop, I'd like to issue a challenge.

"Stop saying how much cheaper they are on single items. Check them out on a weekly shop."

Not just buying similar products, but identical products.

Last time I did it, several years ago, Mainlands shop at Da Ness was 10% cheaper than a Lerwick supermarket. And that was before taking into account the extra cost of getting to the supermarket, and not even contemplating the additional hassle factor.

[JohanofNess]

Problem is folks do Tesco or ASDA want in to Shetland?. If they did you can rest assured they would both already have bought some ground.

 

The size of the store won't exactly be massive either. If Presto thought it was worth building a bigger store would they have not done it or Safeway, Morrisons and now Somerfield would have considered expanding the store. You don't want a Tesco local sized store I can assure you, they're no cheaper than the Somerfield or CO-OP.

[Twerto]

I'm sure i read in the paper a month or so ago that somerfield have a planning application in for an extension.

[sassermaet]

^^^And they've still never gone through with it? Bloody hell, they were saying that when I worked there about two years ago!

[MJ]

I know for a fact I don't want a local tesco. Small tescos are one of the most expensive places to shop

 

.....Lidl & Aldi are a waste of space....

 

Aldi and lidl may not carry the brand names supermarket junkies are used to, but they carry cheap staples (bread, pasta, rice, veg etc). On a low income they can make meals a lot more affordable. Lidl wine is also something of a mystery how can they find such good wines under for under a fiver but charge over £10 for something you couldn't even cook with? Some of my best wine customers sooth admitted that they regularly bought boxes of wine from lidl. Many of my neighbours would do a shop in lidl before doing their Sainsbury's shop (not being able to live with the shame of being seen in Walmart). It's almost Chav Chic.

[sheepshagger]

I do have a little experiance with local retailing and can assure you the mark up is nowhere near 100%, not even half that.

From this mark up they have to pay wages, rates, electricity, insurance, tax, etc etc.

not quite as easy money as some seem to think.

Add to this the fact that most corner stores are open fairly long hours and the owners day does not end when the door shuts.

While the likes of Harry's and bolts can get carrage paid orders they have to spend quite a bit of money for it to be worth their suppliers while.

The country shops hands are tied on pricing, by what they pay the wholesalers Grays and Hughsons.

What you do get from a local store is service with a smile, if they don't have it in most if not all will try and get it for you, so you have choice also.

When they get a good deal on something this is reflected in the price paid by the customer, as has been pointed out on this thread already.

If this is not the case they would go out of buisness very quickly.

I lived south for a lot of years within 300yards of an Asda for some of it and shoped in it, yet I still went to the butcher for meat the corner shop for milk, fags, bread, papers, booze, and quite a lot more, I would drive ten miles past several supermarkets to go to the fishmongers to be sure of getting fresh fish.

The quality of produce and customer service is better in the local shops the staff will know your name and what your prefrences are.

Compare this to your supermarket where you may have choice if you can actually find what you are looking for, but don't ask the staff if you can't because they don't care or don't know either.

And as for prices they will charge as much as they can get away with, when they don't face competition they charge a hell of a lot more than any country shop does just now with the added advantage of bulk buying and lower unit cost, so nortsidebertie if you want fat cats get tesco's in, profit margins will be higher than 100% and all profits will leave the islands leaving us all poorer

T

[Guest posiedon]

sheepshagger

Compare this to your supermarket where you may have choice if you can actually find what you are looking for, but don't ask the staff if you can't because they don't care or don't know either.

I asked a girl stacking shelves in the Co-op, "where can I find Ruskoline"? What's that? Was her response, I asked a young guy nearby, he knew what it was but didn't know where where I could find it

As for Tesco! A bloody abomination is all I can say.

[sheepshagger]

I doubt if any of the local shops only pay 5.52 an hour but please feel free to correct me if you know I'm wrong nsb

[Medziotojas]

Remove the word "super" from supermarket and you might just be getting somewhere. It's a pity that some of the bigger chains have pushed into Vilnius and finished off a lot of smaller businesses, but they'll never compete with the market.

 

The market provides good quality, cheap, local produce on a daily basis and both the customer and community benefit from this.

 

Is this scenario not possible in Shetland?

[JustMe]

posiedon wrote

I asked a girl stacking shelves in the Co-op, "where can I find Ruskoline"? What's that? Was her response, I asked a young guy nearby, he knew what it was but didn't know where where I could find it

The problem with people stacking shelves in supermarkets is that they are not given enough training in what the store sells and where to find it. Even worse is that the stores move things to the extent that even the people meant to be putting a product on the shelf may need help to find it.

 

As for sheepshagger's comment about doubting that there are local shops only paying 5.52ph there are several right here in the town who do not pay even that as they can legally get round the minimum wage by employing young people. I do know that one of the supermarkets pays the national minimum or more to all ages but I am not sure about the other one.

[sassermaet]

I know for a fact I don't want a local tesco. Small tescos are one of the most expensive places to shop

 

.....Lidl & Aldi are a waste of space....

 

Aldi and lidl may not carry the brand names supermarket junkies are used to, but they carry cheap staples (bread, pasta, rice, veg etc). On a low income they can make meals a lot more affordable. Lidl wine is also something of a mystery how can they find such good wines under for under a fiver but charge over £10 for something you couldn't even cook with? Some of my best wine customers sooth admitted that they regularly bought boxes of wine from lidl. Many of my neighbours would do a shop in lidl before doing their Sainsbury's shop (not being able to live with the shame of being seen in Walmart). It's almost Chav Chic.

 

I wouldn't recommend pasta from Aldi, it's rank. There was a distinct antiseptic taste to the pack I bought, as well as the texture being like eating soggy polystyrene (and yes, I cooked it properly!).

 

Apart from that, Aldi would be worth the while.

[sassermaet]

posiedon wrote

I asked a girl stacking shelves in the Co-op, "where can I find Ruskoline"? What's that? Was her response, I asked a young guy nearby, he knew what it was but didn't know where where I could find it

The problem with people stacking shelves in supermarkets is that they are not given enough training in what the store sells and where to find it. Even worse is that the stores move things to the extent that even the people meant to be putting a product on the shelf may need help to find it.

 

As for sheepshagger's comment about doubting that there are local shops only paying 5.52ph there are several right here in the town who do not pay even that as they can legally get round the minimum wage by employing young people. I do know that one of the supermarkets pays the national minimum or more to all ages but I am not sure about the other one.

 

When I worked for Somerfield, there were two separate minimum wages. One was for 18+, the other was for the 16 and 17 year olds who were there. The latter was about £4.50 (which went up to £4.80 when I was there), and the former was whatever the national average was at the time - £5.05 I think. I turned 18 while I worked there, along with a few of my colleagues, and your wage didn't transfer automatically when you came of age - you had to tell the manager that you would be 18 on this date and had to go up to minimum wage.

 

At the same time, I had a friend who was the year below me at school working at the Lerwick Co-op (because the Brae shop hadn't become a Co-op yet). I was on minimum wage at this point while she was getting £5.23 an hour - 20p more than me and she was only 17. I wasn't happy, I can tell you...

[sheepshagger]

Like I said local shops tend to pay better than the supermarkets posiedon.

I know I have been guilty of assuming to know what folk get paid and I ussually guessed way too high, but the one I was sure would be paying minimum wage was paying more.

[mgb2010]

Saw a Tesco advert for the Ratatouille dvd for £8. "Oooo think I'd like that" thought me. Went a shopping in Lerwick.....only £20 on the highstreet and £22 in toll clock!

Even with transport costs to Shetland, someone is seriously taking the P!

 

Anybody going south? Even with a donation to the beer fund I'd still be in pocket.