What do you think of Tesco?

[Big_Sharps]

I reckon you've got her, or should I say him, there.

Sick of these blokes pretending to be flatdicks.

[Weststander]

Wife does the shopping, not really bothered where she goes.

But I agree, some folk do have a very snobbish attitude towards supermarkets.

[bangerhard]

Waitrose any day - top quality all round!

otherwise, over here it has to be Albert Heijn (just because it is less than 5 minutes walk from my penthouse apartment)

[largehat]

Oh wow, you live in a penthouse apartment. I am so glad you slipped that in, otherwise I wouldn't be blown away by how impressive you are right now. Can we be friends?

[Martinbwfc]

My tin shack is on the top floor of our complex, can I claim that to be a penthouse

[Squidgy]

Waitrose any day - top quality all round!

And how many times have you shopped there?

Bollocks.

[bangerhard]

And how many times have you shopped there?

Bollocks.

Actually quite a few times since I was back in Bolton for Christmas ane New year, plus frequent it at least once a week, when I am in the UK.

And before you ask, many Boots, which had a "food" section is now Waitrose, whilst for a slight bigger shop I tend to use the one on Bridge Street in Manchester (now part of the Spinningfields complex).

[Squidgy]

Actually quite a few times since I was back in Bolton for Christmas ane New year, plus frequent it at least once a week, when I am in the UK.

And before you ask, many Boots, which had a "food" section is now Waitrose, whilst for a slight bigger shop I tend to use the one on Bridge Street in Manchester (now part of the Spinningfields complex).

WTF are you talking about?

[bangerhard]

WTF are you talking about?

Well you did ask how many times I shopped at Waitrose!

[Squidgy]

Well you did ask how many times I shopped at Waitrose!

Not your life story mate, not your life story.

[Malcolm Everett]

bangerhard - are you going to let him be sarcastic to you like that?

[valleychallenger]

Shopped for 20 years at Tesco now am saving 40 quid a week by using Asda!! i reckon within a few years asda will be number one in this country.

[Paul Comstive]

I shop at Sainsbury's or Asda.

Sainsbury's is closest to where I work so I go there during my lunch hour.  If I can't be arsed then I'll call in at Asda on the way home because that's the only supermarket that I don;t have to go out of my way.

I'm really not arsed.

I also tend to find that it usually depends on the area of a town that determines a supermarket's clientele.

[bangerhard]

Not your life story mate, not your life story.

What life story?

Only answered exactly same way as everyone else on this thread and, in fact Paul Comstive, gave as much, if not more detail, than me!

[GarethWilliams]

Tesco are the bullies of the retail trade, refused planning permission does not mean a thing to them, they also claim to be the cheapest or used to do when in fact they are anything but, they are con merchants, every little helps my arse.

[texan dave II]

 The world is a better place when you bought veg at the grocer and your meat from the butcher

[Mr Magoo]

The world is a better place when you bought veg at the grocer and your meat from the butcher

Spot on mate, Alot better.

[Squidgy]

The world is a better place when you bought veg at the grocer and your meat from the butcher

Suppose it all boils down to the breakdown of the community.

I always use the local butcher and shops when I am away visiting Spud in Northern Ireland (although we still do our 'big shop at either Tesco or Asda for convenience and value). She lives in a smallish town in Co. Antrim and there is a real sense that everyone supports their local businesses (and everyone knows everyone, which is a bit weird when you aren't used to it).

The butcher also rears his own meat and it is fantastic. It really makes me question the quality of the meat we get in the large supermarket chains.

[texan dave II]

The local economy in my area is supported in part by chicken production
From the time a chick hatches to the time it is butchered is 10 weeks
How to you get from 6oz to 5.5lb in 10 weeks with no steroids or hormones, more than a little scary

[largehat]

An even scarier question is how can someone rear an animal for 10 weeks, which is eventually sold for £3, and make a profit?

When you think about all the people in the supply chain and the costs of breeding, feeding, housing, transporting, slaughtering, butchering, packaging, refrigerating and retailing a chicken, it doesn't add up to me.

[Squidgy]

I'm now on a mission to find how much it costs to rear a caged chicken. Sad as it is, the whole food chain thing sort of interests me as an end consumer.

The government is largely to blame for the current chicken welfare issue on our fair island though:

"Before the Second World War chicken was a relatively expensive meat, with the UK population eating less than a kilo per annum – compared to today's average of 23kg per person. After the war, as part of the government's concerted efforts to ensure the UK was self-sufficient in food and able to move away from postwar rationing (which lasted almost a decade after the war ended), the industrial-scale production of chicken began. Today, 93 per cent of the fresh chicken we purchase, most of it produced in the UK, is reared on factory farms."

http://www.farminguk.com/news/Who-gives-a-cluck-about-a-broiler-chicken_5907.html
 

[texan dave II]

An even scarier question is how can someone rear an animal for 10 weeks, which is eventually sold for £3, and make a profit?

When you think about all the people in the supply chain and the costs of breeding, feeding, housing, transporting, slaughtering, butchering, packaging, refrigerating and retailing a chicken, it doesn't add up to me.

Here the farm owner makes $0.03 per bird
The feed is provided by the processing plant but all other expenses are covered by the farm owner
Not much money on a individual level but if you can raise say 4 million birds a year not a bad profit

[Squidgy]

I'm no businessman, but around 2 of the Queen's pennies seems a very tight profit margin even for something so mass produced.

I'm sure they have contingency budgets, but if a big bit of machinery breaks down then that's an awful lot of birds to play catchup.

[Malcolm Everett]

I went in Tesco's a couple of times this week, they are really pulling out all of the stops to get people shopping there. I have never seen so many buy one get one free offers or half price offers. Also I got a coupon to save £7 if I spent £50. So I spent £50.20. And then I got another coupon to save £5 if I spend £40. I really recommend getting yourself to Tesco at the moment, lots of bargains to be had.

[Squidgy]

They are tailoring their product lines now to reflect what people may buy in more/less affluent areas.

Gotta love the graphic to indicate the difference between rich and poor.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090377/Tesco-shake-Firm-adapt-product-range-deals-suit-affluence-area.html