2021 - Retailer woe & retail sector chat

[bristolracer]

Magog said:

Have to say Waitrose are really losing it with this. A move that actively deters spontaneous casual purchases, and inconveniences customers just seems bizarre for a business that is struggling.


https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/about-us/sus...

The whole charging for carriers is pointless anyway
If your shopping comes to say £150 per week (easy for a family shop) then 10 carriers at 10p each makes little difference to the overall bill and very few people will baulk at the cost of the bags, it wont change behavior.
If they really want to make a difference they should be leaning on suppliers to package things in recycled or other environmentally friendly packaging.
The whole packaging thing winds me up, if you want to stop it, tax it,tax it large, pack of bacon thats £3 for the bacon and £3 a packet in tax. Bet it would soon focus the industry's mind on something (albeit more expensive than plastic) pretty quickly

[Flooble]

bristolracer said:

The whole charging for carriers is pointless anyway
If your shopping comes to say £150 per week (easy for a family shop) then 10 carriers at 10p each makes little difference to the overall bill and very few people will baulk at the cost of the bags, it wont change behavior.
If they really want to make a difference they should be leaning on suppliers to package things in recycled or other environmentally friendly packaging.
The whole packaging thing winds me up, if you want to stop it, tax it,tax it large, pack of bacon thats £3 for the bacon and £3 a packet in tax. Bet it would soon focus the industry's mind on something (albeit more expensive than plastic) pretty quickly

That's probably why Waitrose will now only say 50p bags. Although lets be honest, the average Waitrose shopper still won't notice the extra cost.

How would you apply your £3 tax to the packet? Any packet?

[skwdenyer]

anonymoususer said:

Magog said:

Have to say Waitrose are really losing it with this. A move that actively deters spontaneous casual purchases, and inconveniences customers just seems bizarre for a business that is struggling.


https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/about-us/sus...

I have to say yep
The bit about the guy on the doorstep swapping stuff into your bags etc
Hmmmmmm wonder what that will do to delivery slots

The whole thing just sounds like recycling top trumps

This is hardly new. We get deliveries from Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tesco. All of them now provide no carrier bags. We just carry the crates into the kitchen, unpack onto the counter, then hand the crates back to the driver.

For when that's not convenient, we have a stack of carrier bags by the door.

I hardly see there's a big deal here.

[b0rk]

Magog said:

Have to say Waitrose are really losing it with this. A move that actively deters spontaneous casual purchases, and inconveniences customers just seems bizarre for a business that is struggling.


https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/about-us/sus...

Are Waitrose still pre-packaging fresh in store bakery in plastic bags, because Covid? Rather than having them loose on display for bagging in brown paper as things where pre-covid.

As others have said to really tackle single use plastic packaging then usage needs to become more expensive than more sustainable or reusable packaging. Alternatively implement recycling and take back schemes that actually work.

[dmahon]

Magog said:

Have to say Waitrose are really losing it with this. A move that actively deters spontaneous casual purchases, and inconveniences customers just seems bizarre for a business that is struggling.


https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/about-us/sus...

Go woke, go broke! That’s ridiculous.

[PH4555]

Magog said:

Have to say Waitrose are really losing it with this. A move that actively deters spontaneous casual purchases, and inconveniences customers just seems bizarre for a business that is struggling.


https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/about-us/sus...

If it was truly about "saving the planet" then they'd remove bags altogether. As they haven't and simply increased the price of them by 500% it's obvious that this is purely about profit.

[Ivan stewart]

PH4555 said:

If it was truly about "saving the planet" then they'd remove bags altogether. As they haven't and simply increased the price of them by 500% it's obvious that this is purely about profit.

Or they would supply paper ones !!

[surveyor]

I've just been to Asda as the wife is poorly.

What I've noticed is a much reduced choice of range. If I wanted to go to a discounter with no choice I would go to Lidl or Aldi. Tesco's next time.

[hyphen]

surveyor said:

I've just been to Asda as the wife is poorly.

How long have you been doing this superstitious healing ritual of going to Asda when people are ill?

Does it have to be Asda?

[hyphen]

Flooble said:

...Although lets be honest, the average Waitrose shopper still won't notice the extra cost...

I know someone who is a well paid senior manager in JL. Gets supermarket deliveries from Tesco and everything else from Amazon etc despite the 25% ish staff discount.

Very odd. If I got a staff discount I wouldn't be getting tesco food.

[Vasco]

surveyor said:

I've just been to Asda as the wife is poorly.

What I've noticed is a much reduced choice of range. If I wanted to go to a discounter with no choice I would go to Lidl or Aldi. Tesco's next time.

Tesco also doesn't have the range it once had. Aldi in particular seems to be gradually taking over.
It's also helpful of Sainsburys to heavily advertise the fact that they now price match many products against Aldi - although it just tells me to use Aldi in future anyway....

[Sheepshanks]

Missus reports M&S Cheshire Oaks had very little frozen stuff this morning - she said first time she's noticed things missing there.

[survivalist]

anonymoususer said:

Magog said:

Have to say Waitrose are really losing it with this. A move that actively deters spontaneous casual purchases, and inconveniences customers just seems bizarre for a business that is struggling.


https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/about-us/sus...

I have to say yep
The bit about the guy on the doorstep swapping stuff into your bags etc
Hmmmmmm wonder what that will do to delivery slots

The whole thing just sounds like recycling top trumps

We got a Sainsbury's delivery while on holiday and they do this. Pain in the arse. Why not use canvas bags, then collect & re-use on the next delivery? Can just take a deposit and then keep it if you don't return the bags.

Seem to remember one of the organic food delivery companies admitting that the best option for delivering your stuff would be a sturdy plastic box, but that they used cardboard ones with a much shorter shelf life as a plastic box wasn't in keeping with their green/earthy image.

Good point about delivery slots. Sure if you add 5 minutes to every drop off then it all adds up at the end of a shift.

[APontus]

My wife is quite well at the moment. Can someone recommend a supermarket for people with healthy wives (not Asda)?

[siovey]

Shelves quite bare and no Indian meals at all on the shelves in the local M&S this morning, so no curry for me this week.
Sorry, should be in the first world problems forum!

[Vasco]

siovey said:

Shelves quite bare and no Indian meals at all on the shelves in the local M&S this morning, so no curry for me this week.
Sorry, should be in the first world problems forum!

Very easy to make your own curry!

[noopets]

Vasco said:

Very easy to make your own curry!

It certainly is - but sourcing chicken at the moment is proving difficult

[hyphen]

Vasco said:

siovey said:

Shelves quite bare and no Indian meals at all on the shelves in the local M&S this morning, so no curry for me this week.
Sorry, should be in the first world problems forum!

Very easy to make your own curry!

Or even better, go for a walk to you local and pick one up.

I've never been a fan of supermarket curries.

[Welshbeef]

hyphen said:

Flooble said:

...Although lets be honest, the average Waitrose shopper still won't notice the extra cost...

I know someone who is a well paid senior manager in JL. Gets supermarket deliveries from Tesco and everything else from Amazon etc despite the 25% ish staff discount.

Very odd. If I got a staff discount I wouldn't be getting tesco food.

John Lewis staff (or Waitrose staff)

They get 12% discount in Waitrose and 25% in John Lewis but within John Lewis electrical are “only” 12% discount not 25%.

Also it’s 12% for your first three years then it ups to 25%
Red discount card and then yellow discount card (or vice versa).

[vaud]

Talking to a pub/bistro owner today and my goodness they have a hard time.

Yorkshire, not in a city. Mid range pricing (but good quality). He's planning the next phase of expansion.

Head chefs - 45k-60k
Staffing - £35/hr

Staff being offered by other places guaranteed 10 hour days, and so many planning to do 3 week blocks (all 21 days) of 10 hour days, break and repeat up to Xmas and then taking a long break.