Tesco price increases

Jip

But as long as they don't claim they're reducing everything they're doing nothing wrong. Underhand maybe, but nothing wrong.

Victor_M

Jip wrote: »

But as long as they don't claim they're reducing everything they're doing nothing wrong. Underhand maybe, but nothing wrong.

Underhand no doubt about it, and that's exactly the point of this thread, whilst there are 1 or 2 posters who claim to price check everything they buy (which I find it hard to believe that certain posters will travel to up to 5 different stores to get the cheapest of everything) most of us shopping in the larger retailers presume that due to the huge purchasing power these chains have that they drive down their costs to offer the best value to the customer, this is typically how a lot of successful business run, this value is then rewarded with customer loyalty, which in turn results in profits for the retailer.

Tesco seem to be trying to win the loyalty of the local shoppers by suggesting that they offer every day low prices and alluding to the fact that they are lowering the prices of many products each week.

This is what they claim to be doing, in reality they have slowly jacked up the prices before they put them back to normal, so they are trying to win customer loyalty by misleading advertising, and before the Tesco defenders jump on-board - Not all of the other retailers do this, I know this for a fact, they do tweak margins on some of their products all the time, they do increase costs if fuel costs rise, they don't slowly raise the cost of all of thier products whilst pretending to offer every day low (which a lot of people will see as everyday lowest) prices.

The point of this thread is to make a few more people aware of this. Stop shopping there and hope that we don't lose the last of the Irish retailers to the UK chains who have no intention of bringing any better value or increased competition to the market just larger profits from the guillable Irish who don't notice their disproportionate price increases.

God knows we don't need Asda and Sainsburys here, we may as well be an English high street if that happens.

Wertz

Victor_M wrote: »

God knows we don't need Asda and Sainsburys here, we may as well be an English high street if that happens.

Don't we? I for one would welcome them with open arms as they might just bring a little more competition to the market, a wider selection of goods, perhaps even pleasant floor staff (like you get in the North, all whilst getting cheaper prices).
Of course that's just a fantasy, becuase the liklihood is that shoudl either of these chains set up here they would adopt similar practices to all the other operators in the market simply because they could get away with it.

Victor_M

Wertz wrote: »

Don't we? I for one would welcome them with open arms as they might just bring a little more competition to the market, a wider selection of goods, perhaps even pleasant floor staff (like you get in the North, all whilst getting cheaper prices).
Of course that's just a fantasy, becuase the liklihood is that shoudl either of these chains set up here they would adopt similar practices to all the other operators in the market simply because they could get away with it.

That was the point I was trying to make, if they came along with the same attitude as Tesco, it wont do any or us any good.

Wertz

But I'd still welcome them to the market initially...Dunnes and Superquinn are no angels either, not to mention "convenience stores".
Have to laugh when I see signs in any of the supermarkets:

*item*

Tesco Price 79c
__________________

Dunnes Price 79c
__________________

Lidl Price 79c

Great...so you all cost the same for some (mostly basic) items. True competiton there.
It's the stuff without those labels on where the big differences lie...but they don't tll you about them do they? Come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen Tesco or Dunnes beating an aldi/lidl price by more than 4 or 5 cent on non-offer prices...

Victor_M

Wertz wrote: »

But I'd still welcome them to the market initially...Dunnes and Superquinn are no angels either, not to mention "convenience stores".
Have to laugh when I see signs in any of the supermarkets:



Great...so you all cost the same for some (mostly basic) items. True competiton there.
It's the stuff without those labels on where the big differences lie...but they don't tll you about them do they? Come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen Tesco or Dunnes beating an aldi/lidl price by more than 4 or 5 cent on non-offer prices...

You'd expect that a bit from all of them, but in Tescos case it wouldn't surprise me if, in the example you showed the competition were 69c & Tesco manipulated the prices to make it look like they were the same price, thus luring the customer into a false sense of value, effectively what they are doing at the moment.

compsys

Hi,

Victor M, I too have noticed a huge increase in the price of many products in Tesco over the past few weeks. In fact, practically everything I buy there has gone up in price recently. Some examples?

Listerine mouthwash: was €5.19 now €5.99
Gillette Fusion razors: were €29.99 now a whopping €34.99
Sanex shower gel: was €4.40 now €4.74
Tesco Orange Juice: was €3.89 now €3.99
MCain Micro Chips: were €2.54 now €3.15


With oil and other commodity prices falling, Sterling at an all-time low against the euro, Irish consumer spending in free fall, and a hard recession looming, how the company can justify such huge price increases is beyond belief. What’s more, all of these products were already significantly cheaper ‘up North’ even before the latest price hikes came in. If retailers like Tesco want to stem the tide of shoppers heading to Newry and elsewhere then this sure isn’t the way to do so.

What really infuriates me, however, is that some of the products whose prices have increased recently only had them 'decreased' a few months ago. When this happened Tesco, of course, ran its usual Sunday newspaper ads shouting out about the great, new, 'long-term' price reductions and how it's committed to constantly cutting prices. An example is the Dove shower gel range. It was €3.29 at the start of the year, was then reduced to €2.99 for a few weeks, and is now back to its original price. I'm sure there are plenty more examples. Or is Tesco artificially increasing prices now just so that it can 'reduce' them again in a few weeks' time and con consumers into thinking they're getting a bargain? (as was found by a Sunday Times price survey back in 2006).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article634347.ece

Another gimmick they seem to use, as correctly pointed out by you Victor M, is the placing of signs and stickers shouting 'everyday low price' beside an item just after they've increased the price of it. An example is the aforementioned Tesco orange juice (1.75 litre) which was increased from €3.89 to €3.99 and then had one of these stickers placed beside it in my Tesco Dundrum store. Another example was a pack of two Tesco value-range sausage rolls which increased in price by 40% (from 42 cent to 59 cent) and then had one of these stickers placed beside it as well. Unbelievable.

What seems to be happening is that Tesco is increasing the price of its branded products to off-set the reduced prices it now charges on some of its own-brand products due to the competition from the German multiples. Either way, the whole thing seems like a serious case of misleading advertising on Tesco's part and should be investigated. What's so sad about the whole thing, however, is that apart from the German discounters, Tesco probably provides the best value among Irish supermarkets... not that that would be so difficult.

I actually submitted these comments into the Irish Times this week and some of them got published under an article that said industry retailers were claiming Tesco had increased the prices on a huge range of its products. Surprise, surprise, Tesco refuted the allegations. I hope the Irish Times expands on this in its weekly price watch supplements on Mondays.

Tesco; Ireland's biggest discounter? The chain doth protest too much, methinks.

Lizzykins

I've been moaning about Tesco for ages now. Barrys Teabags 80 gone from 2.99 to 3.29!!! I passed them by and bought 2 for €4 in Superquinn. Likewise Kellogs Cereal Bars were 2.94 now 3.23. I buy now in Superquinn also for 3.02. That's only two examples I've found.

sceptre

2 litres of Pepsi Max has gone from €1.58 to €1.89 in Tesco in the past two weeks. I switched from there to Dunnes for that item and most other things since.

snubbleste

compsys wrote: »

..
I actually submitted these comments into the Irish Times this week and some of them got published under an article that said industry retailers were claiming Tesco had increased the prices on a huge range of its products. Surprise, surprise, Tesco refuted the allegations. I hope the Irish Times expands on this in its weekly price watch supplements on Mondays...

Saw some of your comments in the Irish Times today, well done!

JP Liz

Tesco is too expensive now :mad:

anonymousjunkie

I don't shop in Tesco's anymore, I've gone back to Superquinn. Tesco's own brand items are cheap quality muck anyway and the items I'd usually buy are gone too expensive to make it worth my while shopping there.

compsys

You're so right about the quality. The Tesco value stuff is absolutely dire. Always make me laugh when they compare their prices to Aldi and Lidle by using those value-range products. You really need to take quality into account as well.

Yep, those price increase are crazy. Superquinn now actually looks good value!

Lizzykins

Superquin have had some great 70s price offers in the last few months. Our local store has been out the door on the days they've had the promotions.

LolaDub

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/pricewatch/2008/08/20/every-little-helps/

oneweb

A tube of Colgate toothpaste was €5.20 (up to recently around €4.30) in Tesco Jervis the other day. I nearly laughed out loud. Of course it had one of those "buy one get one free" offers, which at this stage we all know is anything but!

rubadub

sceptre wrote: »

2 litres of Pepsi Max has gone from €1.58 to €1.89 in Tesco in the past two weeks. I switched from there to Dunnes for that item and most other things since.

I think it is more pepsi who control those prices, pepsi, max & diet have been going up and down a lot over the last year.

I got 12 tesco value eggs and they have now gone from mediums to tiny little ones. Still the cheapest place I have found for eggs though.

snubbleste

rubadub wrote: »

I think it is more pepsi who control those prices, pepsi, max & diet have been going up and down a lot over the last year.
I got 12 tesco value eggs and they have now gone from mediums to tiny little ones. Still the cheapest place I have found for eggs though.

The Pepsi Max 2l is still €1.58 in Dunnes
I get 12 medium eggs at my local greengrocer for €1.40
Shop around!

manc

surprise, surprise, its the uk but probably be here as well...


11/12/2008 - 09:36:55
Tesco today said it will slash prices by 50% in the latest round of discounting to hit the UK retail sector.

The supermarket chain said the sale, which starts tomorrow, would focus on Christmas essentials and gifts.

Britain’s biggest grocer said it was cutting prices early on around 1,000 items in response to customers’ reluctance to purchase items which would later be discounted.

Commercial director Richard Brasher said: “Some say that a bit of the pleasure they usually get from buying gifts has gone in the current climate.

“They’ve told us they still want to enjoy a special Christmas – with big presents for their children and a proper Christmas meal – but they want us to help make their money go further.”

Items to be discounted will include a quad bike, down from £80 (€91) to £32 (€36) and champagne flutes, reduced from £12 to £6, as well as seasonal foods such as Christmas pudding.

Earlier this month Tesco revealed its weakest UK sales performance since the last recession after a supermarket price war halved growth in the preceding quarter.

The supermarket posted a 2% increase in UK like-for-like sales, excluding petrol, in the 13 weeks to November 22, down from 4% the previous quarter.

But Tesco said the sales growth decline came as it cut prices to lure in cash-strapped shoppers, resulting in higher sales volumes and customer numbers.

Around 300,000 more customers were tempted into its stores each week by falling prices, according to the group.

Tesco said it was acting on the basis of its own research, which suggested that customers were delaying spending because of concerns about missing out on discounts.

snubbleste

manc wrote: »

surprise, surprise, its the uk but probably be here as well...

Tesco slashing prices here!
that's funny.

RiverWilde

I haven't actually shopped in Tesco's in years (full weeks shopping). I'll grab a paper or something small, but that's about it. Everything else I'll get in Aldi or Lidl if I'm not skipping across the border for a decent amount of shopping. If it wasn't for the german shops in the south, god help us the prices would be totally insane.

Riv

mailburner

exactly

thank god for aldi and lidl

i get all my fruit and veg in aldi and i can't fault it
and stuff like shave gel, bog roll etc
and save an absolute fortune over a year doin this.
I don't notice the little price increases over a period of time
but i know whether ive been lookin at last years prices or
the currrent one that im being ripped off either way.

I must say tho that the 25% cashback in dunnes this weekend is
a decent offer especially regarding lcd tvs
to think you can get a 37" elonex lcd tv for 500 and get 125 back
in vouchers in incredible.

I get the essentials in tesco like bread, butter, actimels
but i keep it to a minimum.

snubbleste

mailburner wrote: »

I must say tho that the 25% cashback in dunnes this weekend is a decent offer especially regarding lcd tvs
to think you can get a 37" elonex lcd tv for 500 and get 125 back
in vouchers in incredible.

I get the essentials in tesco like bread, butter, actimels
but i keep it to a minimum.

Not helping :pac: Tesco are doing a 30% back on TVs this weekend

mailburner

snubbleste wrote: »

Not helping :pac: Tesco are doing a 30% back on TVs this weekend

thats amazing
i wonder if theyre selling a 37" for 500 tho?

anyone know if the 30% back applies to beers?

wmpdd3

No only electrical, theres a 37inch bush with built " in freeview box" for €599 plus 30% back (about 180 euro back) .

But it will take you a year to spend your 180 euro!!!

JP Liz

prices are still increasing and this is suppose to be sale time

Jip

Supermarkets generally don't have Christmas/New Years sales, they have ongoing promotions.

compsys

JP Liz wrote: »

prices are still increasing and this is suppose to be sale time

Tell me about it. 'Ireland's Biggest Discounter' my arse!

The 500ml Listerine range which used to cost 5.19 was increased to 5.40 a few weeks ago. Then literally a few DAYS later I saw that it had been increased again to 5.99. Went in to Tesco today and it's now retailing for 6.90! A 32% price increase in the space of approximately 2 months! It's still 5.19 in Dunnes and Boots so needless to say that's where I'll keep buying it...

The same thing happened to the Gillete Fusion Power razors (8 pack) that I used to buy there. They used to cost 29.99 but were increased to 31.99 a few weeks ago. Again, only days later, I noticed that that they had been increased to 34.99. Then yesterday I saw that they were now retailing for over 37 f*cking euro! An almost 25% increase. Again, they're still only 29.99 in Dunnes and Boots.

In fact, practically all of the conmpany's health and beauty products have seen massive price increases (often multiple times) over the space of a few weeeks whereas prices in Boots, Dunnes, and to a lesser extent Superquinn, have largely remained unchanged or just seen slight increases due to the VAT hike.

It's quite bizarre that they should choose to be so out of line with the rest of the competition. I mean Tesco is now more expensive than Superquinn for many products. I really hope Irish people notice this and begin to shop elsewhere...

tallaghtfornia

Unilever created alot of jobs here and have 2 big plants in this country. Unilever are a distributor and still use Irish products the likes of HB and Lyons tea two examples. Go to their website you would see this. A friend of mine worked for them for years and Unilver bought out a fair few Irish companies and made them part of the Unilever family.

Unilever produce very little in Ireland any more like Premier foods (Chivers Jam, Erin Soups) Lyons Tea is manufactured here and they also have a plant in cork for Lipton’s tea, All Unilever have hear really now is a call centre in City west and all distribution is outsourced, HB ice cream is made in Italy the Czech Republic , Poland and UK (Walls) Lakeland dairys in Cavan make the Hazelbook farm icecream blocks for them

eth0_

It's a real pity there are no co-operative supermarkets in Ireland like the Co-Op and Waitrose in the UK.

Tesco will screw over their suppliers for as long as they possibly can. They know they are the biggest chain in Ireland and they always have suppliers queueing up to do business with them. I avoid shopping there whenever humanly possible because they really are evil.