Are Lidl/Aldi doomed once the recession is over?

jill_valentine

hoodwinked wrote: »

will aldi and lidl be doomed after the recession? no. but then people predicted tesco/supervalu/M&S would shut down in the recession and they haven't,

i think aldi and lidl will be scaled back when people have the money to go back to buying things they once loved, be it Liga or Kellogs cereals or campbells soups, or knorr sauces, or cadbury's chocolate other brands they used love.

I'm not so sure of that, is that the thing. Lidl and Aldi now offer me a better range of fruit and veg than the other chains. And many of their soups, marinated meats, sauces, boozes etc aren't just imitations of better known brands, they're just good on their own terms.

There are a few selected things they do that aren't great - cereal, washing powder, and for some reason anything Chinese themed - but otherwise I think there's probably quite a few people like me, who came for the discount noodles and stay for the AMAZING Mediterranean peanuts.

Five Lamps

Mary63 wrote: »

The Aldi weetabix is vile and most of their cereals are very sweet.It is also a very soulless shopping experience,all those cardboard boxes piled high and surly staff.I hate the way they fire the stuff through instead of pausing and helping the customer pack,its those touches that put me off.The last time I was in aldi the rude young man wanted to go on his break,he rushed the stuff through so fast it was falling off the conveyer belt,the poor woman was picking it up off the ground and more stuff was landing on her head,your man just kept going and when she had finally packed everything and paid he snapped the till shut and walked off and left a queue of people standing there.

I prefer to buy stuff in small quantities too and in these discounters you have to buy a whole packet of ahm etc,the other supermarkets will slice it for you,not everyone wants bags of apples,grapefruit etc,I would like to buy just one or two.I did notice in Dunnes the last time I was in that I had to buy a bag of red onions and three garlic in a pack,you used to be able to buy one or two onions and weigh them and buy one bulb of garlic.I hope the big supermarkets dont follow aldi and lidl with this wastage or small households.

I bought milk in lidl recently and it was in date.I took a mouthful and it wasnt just gone off,the taste was indescribable,never again.I read somewhere recently that it is really cheap poor quality milk,I would never buy it again.
I suppose its personal choice and income,Marks is way ahead interms of quality,their fruit and bread in particular are lovely and also the cut flowers.The aldi cut flowers used to be very good but the quality is not as nice now and they are the same price there as most supermarkets.

If you want a soulless shopping experience visit any Tesco. Dunnes isn't too far behind either. M&S do great food but a lot of the time it's overpriced and overpackaged. Can't beat the the yellow sticker items if you have a freezer.

I have no problem with the quality of a lot of stuff that you get in Aldi/Lidl.

Personally I think the days of shopping in one grocery store are over. We use spread our shopping across Aldi/Lidl/Supervalue/M&S/Dunnes and local stores. We're lucky that all of these are a short drive away.

Of course during the boom we always maintained that we were being ripped off by many supermarkets so why would we go back to being ripped off?

Shelflife

Just to clear up the fallacy of own label goods being the exact same as the branded goods.

They may well come off the same line and be made by the same company , but you can be sure that the mix used is completely different.

We used to supply a meat product to M&S, Tesco and the MOD, I can assure you that the cheap product that the MOD got was nothing compared to the others, and there was also a quality difference between the two supermarkets , yet they all came off the "same production line "

vibe666

Mary63 wrote: »

The last time I was in aldi the rude young man wanted to go on his break,he rushed the stuff through so fast it was falling off the conveyer belt,the poor woman was picking it up off the ground and more stuff was landing on her head,your man just kept going and when she had finally packed everything and paid he snapped the till shut and walked off and left a queue of people standing there.

The whole point is, you aren't supposed to pack AT the till. You put your trolley the end and put stuff back in your trolley after it's scanned, pay and THEN pack afterwards at the window or your car. Nobody is new to lidl/aldi at this point, so if you don't follow the rules, that's what you can expect for holding everyone up.

One of the reasons they are so cheap is because ONE of their checkout staff will easily process 2-3 times (or more) the customers that Tesco or dunnes staff can in the same amount of time, so they need to pay less of them. It's all about speed and efficiency. That said, I usually find them very friendly and courteous when I am friendly and courteous towards them, so I guess you do get what you pay for in that regard.

On a particularly tight month, we were both stuck at home due to sickness, so we put together a list of everything needed for the month and did a very precise Tesco online shop of around €400, but the payment wouldn't go through on the card, so we eventually gave up.

The following day I was feeling a little better so I ventured out to lidl and aldi as they are both only 5 minutes away (compared to 20 odd for Tesco) and got every item on the shopping list, with a grand total cost of €230 compared to €400 for the exact same shop, item for item in Tesco.

We still do the occasional online Tesco so for specialist items that can't be got anywhere else easily, but most of our shopping is done between lidl and aldi now and will be for the foreseeable future unless i suddenly have money to burn and an unquenchable desire to be ripped off that hasn't been satisfied in the many other ways it already is.

goz83

Mary63 wrote: »

The Aldi weetabix is vile and most of their cereals are very sweet.It is also a very soulless shopping experience,all those cardboard boxes piled high and surly staff.I hate the way they fire the stuff through instead of pausing and helping the customer pack,its those touches that put me off.The last time I was in aldi the rude young man wanted to go on his break,he rushed the stuff through so fast it was falling off the conveyer belt,the poor woman was picking it up off the ground and more stuff was landing on her head,your man just kept going and when she had finally packed everything and paid he snapped the till shut and walked off and left a queue of people standing there.

I prefer to buy stuff in small quantities too and in these discounters you have to buy a whole packet of ahm etc,the other supermarkets will slice it for you,not everyone wants bags of apples,grapefruit etc,I would like to buy just one or two.I did notice in Dunnes the last time I was in that I had to buy a bag of red onions and three garlic in a pack,you used to be able to buy one or two onions and weigh them and buy one bulb of garlic.I hope the big supermarkets dont follow aldi and lidl with this wastage or small households.

I bought milk in lidl recently and it was in date.I took a mouthful and it wasnt just gone off,the taste was indescribable,never again.I read somewhere recently that it is really cheap poor quality milk,I would never buy it again.
I suppose its personal choice and income,Marks is way ahead interms of quality,their fruit and bread in particular are lovely and also the cut flowers.The aldi cut flowers used to be very good but the quality is not as nice now and they are the same price there as most supermarkets.

I'm sorry but your post is complete tosh. Do you work in M&S? By the way, my OH shops in all the supermarkets and i particularly like the m&s sausages. If a till operator was firing stuff through the scanner and it was landing on someones head, he/she would be sacked. They also let people know the till is closed when they are serving the last customer, two in the queue. I worked in Lidl at one time for a short while and their system makes complete sense, but I do think they should cater for those who wish to buy only a few items at a time.


To respond to another post regarding branding. I have 2 experiences and a personal example of the same crap wrapped in different colours.

* i used to deliver Strathroy milk. At the time, the stuff was bottled at the factory we collected it from. The same milk used to be branded under a number of shop branded names. The likes of Avonmore was different though. So, not all regular milk is the same.

* i worked in a place called fortjames in Finglas, which used to prepare and package toilet paper, kitchen towels, cling film and tin foil. For each product, there were 2, or 3 variants (for thickness/strength/luxury). The rolls of stuff going into the machines were huge and I can confirm that from one roll, any number of branded stuff was spun off and packaged. Kitten soft was the main brand, but a couple of store branded stuff was coming off the same roll and was half the price. I recall kitten soft and inversoft being the same thing. Sometimes, they used a different print pattern on the rollers, but the stuff was the same. All the clingfilm was the same. Different strengths were used for tinfoil, but it amazed me in the differences of prices for the exact same thing.

* my personal experience are biscuits they sell in Lidl. I can't recall the name, but they are square and you get four stacks of four in a rectangular box. The biscuits have a heavy, printed coat of chocolate on them. Last time I personally bought them, they were €0.39 in Lidl. A couple of days later, i was in work and bought the same biscuits in Spar. The packaging was all the same, but there was a Spar logo on it. They cost €1.29 and there were four stacks of three, so only 12 instead of the 16 in Lidl. :eek:

Truly ripped off. I expect higher prices in Spar, but this was taking the phiss

foggy_lad

Mary63 wrote: »

The Aldi weetabix is vile and most of their cereals are very sweet.It is also a very soulless shopping experience,all those cardboard boxes piled high and surly staff.I hate the way they fire the stuff through instead of pausing and helping the customer pack,its those touches that put me off.The last time I was in aldi the rude young man wanted to go on his break,he rushed the stuff through so fast it was falling off the conveyer belt,the poor woman was picking it up off the ground and more stuff was landing on her head,your man just kept going and when she had finally packed everything and paid he snapped the till shut and walked off and left a queue of people standing there.

I prefer to buy stuff in small quantities too and in these discounters you have to buy a whole packet of ahm etc,the other supermarkets will slice it for you,not everyone wants bags of apples,grapefruit etc,I would like to buy just one or two.I did notice in Dunnes the last time I was in that I had to buy a bag of red onions and three garlic in a pack,you used to be able to buy one or two onions and weigh them and buy one bulb of garlic.I hope the big supermarkets dont follow aldi and lidl with this wastage or small households.

I bought milk in lidl recently and it was in date.I took a mouthful and it wasnt just gone off,the taste was indescribable,never again.I read somewhere recently that it is really cheap poor quality milk,I would never buy it again.
I suppose its personal choice and income,Marks is way ahead interms of quality,their fruit and bread in particular are lovely and also the cut flowers.The aldi cut flowers used to be very good but the quality is not as nice now and they are the same price there as most supermarkets.

But you will pay dearly for the privilege of buying one or two slices of ham and why would someone with a family pay the same for 3slices of ham as aldi charge for 12? You will also pay for being pampered in SuperValu tesco Dunne's etc and for the extra staff hours taken to help you sort and pack your shopping and offer you a chair and a sweet while you wait.

I have never had anything out of date or even short dated in aldi or lidl but regularly send stuff back to SuperValu and tescos because it is old stock or gone off.

The last milk I bought was in aldi rathmines and it was a litre carton which had 12days till the use by! If anything I see marks and Spencer shutting down the remainder of their food stores and tesco being overtaken massively by SuperValu as aldi and lidl continue to increase their market share "slowly but surely"!

STG.Otaku

People saying the Aldi/Lidl saving is nowhere near the €80 advertised.

That's because you don't go in to Tesco for bread, milk and a paper and walk out with bread, milk, a paper, a canoe, a digital tyre inflator and a Black & Decker Workmate.

goz83

Isn't it Supervalu advertising the €80 saving?

Most of our weekly shop is in Lidl. We have recently done a couple of weekly shops in Tesco and the savings were in excess of €80 in favour of Lidl. But we have 4 kids and get food for 3 cats there too, so it adds to our potential saving. My Dad is a tesco snob :pac: but he is returning fouled bread on an almost weekly basis. He likes the taste of Lidl food, until he is told it came from Lidl.

lapua20grain

goz83 wrote: »

Isn't it Supervalu advertising the €80 saving?

Most of our weekly shop is in Lidl. We have recently done a couple of weekly shops in Tesco and the savings were in excess of €80 in favour of Lidl. But we have 4 kids and get food for 3 cats there too, so it adds to our potential saving. My Dad is a tesco snob :pac: but he is returning fouled bread on an almost weekly basis. He likes the taste of Lidl food, until he is told it came from Lidl.

I would love to know what Tesco it is I have never had to return anything to Tesco I am shopping with them for years

dashcamdanny

STG.Otaku wrote: »

People saying the Aldi/Lidl saving is nowhere near the €80 advertised.

That's because you don't go in to Tesco for bread, milk and a paper and walk out with bread, milk, a paper, a canoe, a digital tyre inflator and a Black & Decker Workmate.

HAve to admit. I'm a sucker for all that crap in the middle isle!! Most of it is still new in its box a year later . In the shed..

As for the subject in hand.

Its plain to see that the German discounters have established them themselves perfectly in the market place. And are here to stay for sure.

But once people have a few more pound in the pocket , they may lose some of the middle income earners back to the big 3 . Their arrival has brought manners to the big markets share leaders and I hope that trend continues .

The outcome is better savings for everyone if they know how to play them at their own game.

When I was on the dole for a while I shopped around going to each to get the best deals, but now I am gainfully employed and flush again, I just want to go to one big supermarket and get everything in one go. I dont want to experiment on cheap brands, I know what I like. I can afford to pay for the privilege again.

Maybe this is a common trend.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

A_Sober_Paddy

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

I absolutely live them for the basics. Fruit veg, cereal, pasta, meat and fish. You can't go wrong. Then head to m and s for the real treats, and the bill still works out the same if not cheaper over tesco.
Tesco are like boots in my opinion. They give off this impression of being cheap, but rarely are (my local pharmacy sells Colgate all the time for 1.50 for example, not the 3 for 2 bull**** that ends up costing more).

While they don't carry as many lines as tesco, there isn't really a need for it. I don't need an aisle full of yogurts and butter. It does my head in when people say they'd never buy their meat in aldi, but when asked where they buy their meat, they say tesco :eek:

Meat specifically steaks are so bad in tesco, bit on lidl they are so so good, and the strange thing is, tesco and Dunne's have first pick of the meat according to a butcher I know

foggy_lad

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Meat specifically steaks are so bad in tesco, bit on lidl they are so so good, and the strange thing is, tesco and Dunne's have first pick of the meat according to a butcher I know

But tesco/dunnes want a much larger mark-up on the price so what you pay €10 for in lidl or Aldi is a better quality steak

spurious

foggy_lad wrote: »

But tesco/dunnes want a much larger mark-up on the price so what you pay €10 for in lidl or Aldi is a better quality steak

..and they were 25% off in LIDL the other day - nyom.

dashcamdanny

foggy_lad wrote: »

But tesco/dunnes want a much larger mark-up on the price so what you pay €10 for in lidl or Aldi is a better quality steak

That shrink wrapped premium sirloin steak that Aldi do would be one of the main reason I go there. Always a fantastic cut . Even nicer if left in the fridge for a couple of days past its date.

lapua20grain

dashcamdanny wrote: »

That shrink wrapped premium sirloin steak that Aldi do would be one of the main reason I go there. Always a fantastic cut . Even nicer if left in the fridge for a couple of days past its date.

and what you pay €10 for in a butchers is even better never mind a supermarket

A_Sober_Paddy

lapua20grain wrote: »

and what you pay €10 for in a butchers is even better never mind a supermarket

I got two fillets in my butchers before, they were nice but small, got the fillets in lidl 3 times the size and a wee bit cheaper and the lidl ones tasted a whole lot better

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

I got two fillets in my butchers before, they were nice but small, got the fillets in lidl 3 times the size and a wee bit cheaper and the lidl ones tasted a whole lot better

At the risk of dragging this even further than the question asked by the OP, I can't agree with that. The steak, mince etc from my local buther is infinitely better quality than any I have experienced in any supermarket and is excellent value. Likewise the fish from our fishmonger's.
An awful lot of this discussion depends on people's personal tastes and likes. It's exceptionally subjective. When it comes to meat or fruit and veg we will all have different preferences and opinions of what constitutes good value. The only thing I can say for sure is that some products like cereals, are different in Aldi/Lidl as the nutritional values on the packaging alone testifies as, for instance, Lidl cereals have a higher sugar content. Some will prefer the taste as a result, others will dislike it for the same reason, and others again, will notice no difference. But this is immaterial to the question raised.
The question was would shoppers revert back to the mainstream supermarkets as the economy improves and I suspect the answer is no.

goz83

lapua20grain wrote: »

I would love to know what Tesco it is I have never had to return anything to Tesco I am shopping with them for years

Kilbarrack and clarehall.

My own experience is the poor meat quality in tesco. The steak is small and over priced and the pork medallions literally squirt when you bite into them and taste manky. I gave them the benefit of the doubt twice after my first experience. Never again.

I haven't done a shop in dunnes or Supervalu in years, so cant comment. Super Quinn was always great, but prices are a premium.

The steak in Lidl is great and imo, on par with the best of the butchers cut. I would like to see a bigger selection there, but maybe that would drive up costs.

dashcamdanny

Gia Salty Shade wrote: »

At the risk of dragging this even further than the question asked by the OP, I can't agree with that. The steak, mince etc from my local buther is infinitely better quality than any I have experienced in any supermarket and is excellent value. Likewise the fish from our fishmonger's.
An awful lot of this discussion depends on people's personal tastes and likes. It's exceptionally subjective. When it comes to meat or fruit and veg we will all have different preferences and opinions of what constitutes good value. The only thing I can say for sure is that some products like cereals, are different in Aldi/Lidl as the nutritional values on the packaging alone testifies as, for instance, Lidl cereals have a higher sugar content. Some will prefer the taste as a result, others will dislike it for the same reason, and others again, will notice no difference. But this is immaterial to the question raised.
The question was would shoppers revert back to the mainstream supermarkets as the economy improves and I suspect the answer is no.

What I don't understand is why meat from a butcher is better, not having a go at ya, but is a cow not a cow and Irish meat not all the same? Is there a difference? I use the local butcher to support locals and all that. But I cant tell the difference . All I know is that those steaks in Aldi are tender and tasty when cooked medium.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

dashcamdanny wrote: »

What I don't understand is why meat from a butcher is better, not having a go at ya, but is a cow not a cow and Irish meat not all the same? Is there a difference? I use the local butcher to support locals and all that. But I cant tell the difference . All I know is that those steaks in Aldi are tender and tasty when cooked medium.

A cow is certainly not a cow! Living in the countryside I see how they are reared and I know families that keep animals for their own table that are reared and fed differently bto those they send to market. Different breed of cattle produce different quality meat. Just as important is the hanging of the meat prior to sale. But like all foods it's a matter of personal preference. I found aldi meat too moist for my liking and not a flavoured but others think otherwise. So be it - to each his own?

I would never buy meat in Aldi or Lidl - or fresh fish. Then again I eat very little meat so would just go to a butcher on the odd occasion - maybe I just feel a bit more care goes into it. My local butcher has his own herd that he uses - so 100% tracebility.

I cant fault Lidl or Aldi when it comes to fruit and veg - its the best - no contest. Same with plants.

But this week alone I had to go elsewhere for dessicated coconut, Roses Lime Juice, raisins and corn cakes. So its annoying and for that reason I will often just go to Tesco which has absolutely everything The Tesco Everyday real coffee is the best ever - and I am a bit of a coffee snob - its only €1.99 - it works in espresso makers and cafeteries and its just lovely.

I dont really have time to go to 3 different supermarkets a week so thats the downside to Lidl and Aldi.

They are here to stay - but I still like to support my local smaller shops too - its very tough on them to stay in business and they really appreciate the support.

quadrifoglio verde

Deleted User wrote: »

I would never buy meat in Aldi or Lidl - or fresh fish. Then again I eat very little meat so would just go to a butcher on the odd occasion - maybe I just feel a bit more care goes into it. My local butcher has his own herd that he uses - so 100% tracebility.

I cant fault Lidl or Aldi when it comes to fruit and veg - its the best - no contest. Same with plants.

But this week alone I had to go elsewhere for dessicated coconut, Roses Lime Juice, raisins and corn cakes. So its annoying and for that reason I will often just go to Tesco which has absolutely everything The Tesco Everyday real coffee is the best ever - and I am a bit of a coffee snob - its only €1.99 - it works in espresso makers and cafeteries and its just lovely.

I dont really have time to go to 3 different supermarkets a week so thats the downside to Lidl and Aldi.

They are here to stay - but I still like to support my local smaller shops too - its very tough on them to stay in business and they really appreciate the support.

You're missing out then, in my experience the meat in aldi and lidl is much better than that in tesco and super value. Not as good as the local butcher, but he's much more expensive (his meat is unreal)
I know you didn't say it in your post, but most people I know who say they wouldn't buy meat in aldi, when asked where they buy meat, they say tesco...something I've always found puzzling to say the least

foggy_lad

Deleted User wrote: »

I would never buy meat in Aldi or Lidl - or fresh fish. Then again I eat very little meat so would just go to a butcher on the odd occasion - maybe I just feel a bit more care goes into it. My local butcher has his own herd that he uses - so 100% tracebility.

so do Aldi and Lidl only their herds are a lot bigger. The meat is the same and in a lot of cases handled packaged better and less chance of contamination than in the back room of some dingy old butcher shop.

I cant fault Lidl or Aldi when it comes to fruit and veg - its the best - no contest. Same with plants.

Like with all fruit and veg they are all in season for a certain time and when that time is coming to a close those fruit or veg will not last as long as the same variety in the middle of their season.

But this week alone I had to go elsewhere for dessicated coconut, Roses Lime Juice, raisins and corn cakes. So its annoying and for that reason I will often just go to Tesco which has absolutely everything The Tesco Everyday real coffee is the best ever - and I am a bit of a coffee snob - its only €1.99 - it works in espresso makers and cafeteries and its just lovely.

Aldi/Lidll are fantastic for normal larder items and everyday items and don't usually stock speciality items unless there is a demand from a few customers at a store. This is why they are able to keep costs so low.

I dont really have time to go to 3 different supermarkets a week so thats the downside to Lidl and Aldi.

All the items you listed are items that can be bought once a month and stored so a trip to tesco or dunnes might only be required a few times a year.

They are here to stay - but I still like to support my local smaller shops too - its very tough on them to stay in business and they really appreciate the support.

People will always need the little extras and will always forget stuff when shopping so the local Londis, Gala, Daybreak, centra, etc are essential.

dashcamdanny

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

You're missing out then, in my experience the meat in aldi and lidl is much better than that in tesco and super value. Not as good as the local butcher, but he's much more expensive (his meat is unreal)
I know you didn't say it in your post, but most people I know who say they wouldn't buy meat in aldi, when asked where they buy meat, they say tesco...something I've always found puzzling to say the least

Why do you say that, What is better about it?

As another poster said before, there are premium breeds of cattle and some are fed differently, but I very much doubt a discounter is buying that meat as it would not be profitable to sell at a discount price.

Another poster said Tesco and Dunnes has the best pick from the meat factory.

Is it perception, packaging, a general dislike or appreciation of a brand that may be swaying opinions of people?
What I see here in boards more than anywhere is a dedication to Aldi and lidl. In fact even is the store came out with a totally horrible product, some people would still beat the drum for them saying its the best. ↑
And on the other side of the coin people who have never even been in Aldi state that Dunnes, Tesco, Supervalu are much better. ? How do they know??


What I find most interesting about the whole subject of shopping is the near political views from its electorate. No matter how good or bad they are, they will still get the regular votes, and no propaganda from the other side will sway them.

ukoda

NIMAN wrote: »

but the nonsense of advert claims of saving €80 per week were a bit far fetched imho.

isn't it SuperValu that claim the €80 savings in their new ad??

foggy_lad

People are just fed up of being taken for mugs by the likes of tesco dunnes etc. here is just one example, a tin of salmon costing €1.19 in aldi while the nearest equivalent in tesco does not exist! Why? because tesco will not sell any tin of salmon so cheaply as it is one of the products that they see as cash cows, people will just grab a couple of tins in passing because it is always good to have a few tins in the press. Tuna is the exact same. even SuperValu can sell the same tin of salmon for €1.49.

There are hundreds if not thousands of these items in tesco dunnes and they will never drop the prices to make them competitive even though the items are identical in everything bar the label.

chooey

I think they're definitely here to stay. I usually do a veg/basics shop in lidl once a week. Milk and cream I find amazing there and love their cleaning products and rose wine. Meat I buy in my butchers and fish from the local fishmongers but I have had the steaks from aldi before and they were great, far better than the ones that I had from Supervalu.

Rucking_Fetard

MugMugs wrote: »

I recently met an Irish producer for Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Dunnes and some other name. We asked him who was the biggest pain the backside. His answer was Aldi, because their quality demands are so much higher.

A pain to him but surely a benefit to us.

I knew a producer for Aldi/Lidl/Tesco etc one time.

The profit margins from Aldi and Lidl were much smaller...very small. Producer didn't give a damn about quality going to them, if they complained they could f-off as they nearly weren't worth suppling.

Supplied them for years, was never a word.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I spoke with a supplier of fruit to one of the German supermarkets (won't say wish one lest it identifies him) and he said he has planted a different variety to enable production at the prices the supermarket needs and the variety is much inferior to those he grows for elsewhere. I thought it interesting to hear from his side.