Supermarket Customer

Sainsburys chief attacks government greenstanding on plastic bags

John Page — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:06:00 +0000

Justin King has gone public and attacked government plans to legislate to require retailers to charge consumers for single-use bags.

He points out that the issue is complex. This policy has had only a temporary effect in Ireland. Paper bags cost more to transport and are twice as energy intensive as a plastic one. Furthermore

Last year a large number of retailers, not just supermarkets, sat down in good faith with Wrap, the government-funded body concerned with packaging and food waste, and Defra to agree a voluntary approach to cutting the environmental impact of plastic bags by 25pc by the end of 2008 - not simply the number of bags.

This target appears to have been thrown out and informed debate overturned.

So the government knew there were informed discussions going on but chose to override them with a crude headline measure which will make life more expensive for many people (standard practice, government doesn't care about that) and won't address the overall problem anyway.

Right long-term decision? I don't think so. This is not serious governing.

Tesco Shaving Gel

John Page — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:14:00 +0000

Since I last bought a can of Tesco own label shaving gel - it takes me a few weeks to got through one - the price has not just gone up, it has almost doubled.

To add insult to injury, underneath the display is a large sign calling this an Everyday Low Price.

Is this because of general market movement? No - they're selling a branded product much more cheaply than their own label version.

Stand by for a high profile price cut in a few weeks.

How to do a cheap offer cheaply

John Page — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:12:00 +0000

Don't keep the cheap item on the shelves. That's the policy at Tesco, Potters Bar with the offer on ordinary pork sausages.

Sainsburys profiterole stack

John Page — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:55:00 +0000

If you buy Sainsbury's profiterole stack, try an experiment. Take some of the chocolate coloured topping in a spoon, and taste it with your eyes closed.

Does it taste of chocolate? No? Not at all? What does it taste of, then? Yes, sugar.

The lists of ingredients show traces of chocolate in the mix. But you wouldn't know it from the taste.

Horrible and doubtless unhealthy.

Shopfitting at London Colney

John Page — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:21:00 +0000

Marks & Spencer and Sainsburys seem to have been competing at London Colney to see who could make their shopfitting last longest at greatest inconvenience to customers.

Sainsburys' tactic has been to narrow the entrance and exit, but they have also shifted staples around the store, which means you have to pay attention rather than shop on automatic. We've also had drilling during the day.

M&S have lost the contest, having completed their refit first, while Sainsburys are going to close for a week at the beginning of November.

But where are the mirrors in M&S? Very rare beasts.

Keeping supermarkets apart

John Page — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:59:00 +0000

How far are we willing to drive to a supermarket?

Richard Fletcher's comment in today's Telegraph, in the context of the forthcoming Competition Commission report, hasn't hit their website yet. He mainly focuses on how far we're preared to travel to get goods cheaply.

But he concludes by asking how far we will travel for that special jar of sun-dried tomatoes. A different question and a good one.

Our household will go to a particular supermarket for a particular item. What's of interest to the supermarket isn't primarily what we spend on that. It's what we spend on other things while we're there.

That's why there should be plenty of choice of supermarkets within easy travelling distance. If this means we get more Morrison's stores (which are uninteresting), it's a price worth paying for making consumer choice effective.

Sausages

John Page — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:45:00 +0000

Bismarck is supposed to have said that, "To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making".

We don't go that far, but we do like to look around to see what supermarkets are offering in the way of good sausages.

For a long while we bought Tesco traditional pork sausages, but they seemed to start producing more fat when we cooked them. And the price inched up, to £2.12 for six.

Waitrose premium sausages seem a better bet. And they're cheaper, at £1.99 for a pack of eight.

The packaging is also more eco-friendly. Tesco display theirs side by side in a small plastic tray, while Waitrose wrap their sausages in paper, in two rows of four. Less showy.

This week we've tried the Waitrose free range Hampshire breed pork sausages, as they have an offer on them. Very nice - and very little fat emerged during to cooking.

Definitely worth sampling. We go to Waitrose specially for the sausages, and buy several packs at a time.

Waitrose poppy seed rolls

John Page — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:38:00 +0000

Waitrose poppy seed rolls - tiny or what? Two or perhaps three delicate bites per roll.

Sainsburys' poppy seed rolls are a much more acceptable size.

Summer fruit pudding

John Page — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:34:00 +0000

Ironically (in view of the weather), we're great fans of summer fruit puddings.

The Tesco version is pretty good. The Sainsbury's one is nice, but for my taste they made a mistake with the sweetening and the (very slight) flavouring with champagne.

The best summer fruit pudding comes from Waitrose. It has a fruitier aroma, with a strong scent of blackcurrants, and the individual fruits have exactly the right consistency.

Delicious!