Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The Great Flapjack Scandal at Sainsburys
The local Sainsbury is so full of BOGOFs (buy one get one free) and other, often specious, "OFFERS" that one could be forgiven for thinking you could come out of the store with more money than you went in with.
So much of their merchandising – AKA confusion marketing – seems aimed at disguising higher prices and frustrating price comparisons.
The best example of this I've seen is their flapjacks, near the far corner of the store. These used to be priced at £1 for six slices, in a plastic tray.
The company has managed to hold the price at £1 but, there's a big but: the contents are dramatically reduced. Where once there were six slices, now there are only three.
In effect, the price is nearly doubled.
In order to help disguise the extent of the value reduction, the three, slightly larger slices are now separated in a redesigned tray that features two ridges that space out the slices more widely. Less contents, more packaging, same price. Does this amount to deceit?
More generally, weights & measures (that aid price comparisons) on most products are as hard to find as ever, often in tiny print and/or are deeply hidden.
Tags for Forum Posts: Sainsburys, comparison, confusion, flapjacks, marketing, price
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bob Lindsay-Smith on
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Yes, and if anyone in a corporation thinks of taking legal action against ordinary citizens because of criticism they should remember the McLibel saga, in which a big multinational was extremely heavy-handed, going to court and trying to gain evidence using infiltration techniques and a mysterious break-in, but ended up receiving masses of adverse publicity during the various court cases over 15 years.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Did you know that Mr McLibel runs the Haringey Federation of Residents Associations?
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Yes, I know Mr M. I didn't mention his name because I think he wants to work more at grassroots level now (literally, in the case of Lordship Rec.)
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Partly thanks to the McLibel Two (and docos like Supersize Me!), McDonalds – after directing an assault rifle at their feet – is a now slightly reformed company.
I doubt that Sainsburys would be so foolish, in part because of the McLibel case experience.
In the short run, limited competition from German-owned supermarkets could help consumers; in the long run, either self-reform of the domestic-owned supermarkets (how likely is this?) – or improved trading standards rules that are enforced.
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I have just received the following email from the Group Editor of the Times and Independent Newspapers which I have reproduced with permission. Decent of him to take the time to comment, I thought.
Hugh,
I believe you spoke to one of my reporters about the flapjack story which was inadvertently uploaded to the Haringey Independent website yesterday.
I thought I would email you to let you know why I pulled the article to avoid any further confusion…
When writing stories I do not like my reporters to upload articles from other websites without checking the facts first.
It was a simple mistake.
All of my titles are guided by the Press Complaints Commission’s Editors’ Code of Practice. If the article carried on your website was in anyway inaccurate – I am not suggesting it is – I would have no defence. Section 1 (accuracy) is a fundamental part of the code and I would be unable to defend my newspaper if it was clear the reporter did not substantiate the facts before writing the article.
Secondly, it is poor journalistic practice for us to be seen to be taking articles from other websites. It is a bad habit to get into and one I’ll certainly advise my reporters to avoid.
I hope that clarifies the matter.
Thanks,
Martin
Martin Buhagiar
Group Editor
Times and Independent series
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PS: I checked with Martin and he sounds very understanding. He's treating this as part of a learning journey and the reporter isn't in trouble.
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UPDATE on the flapjack scandal (2012-11-30):
Supermarkets agree to prices and discounts code
Although there's other dubious supermarket conduct (in this thread) that may continue, it looks like someone else at least noticed the special offer scams. Satan'sbusy is one of eight members of a new scheme to "ensure" that special offers and price promotions are fair.
Will it work? How long will it last?
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NOT all of Sainsbury's questionable pricing is deceptive. Sometimes its just peculiar. Take for example, their bread double-deal. Like most supermarkets, Sainsbury's put this basic good in the far opposite corner from the entrance, forcing punters to walk past long rows of higher margin items.
Yesterday I noted the double-deal on Hovis wholemeal. Two medium-sliced for £2.30 or two thick sliced for £2.50. With each item, the weight is 800 grams.
One might suppose there was less wear on the cutting machine. In this case, there was no element of deception, as the shelf prices were clear.
But given that the "loaves" were the same weight and the same bread mixture, why should the thick sliced cost nearly 10% more?
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler on
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Because the cost of the bread, at the point of sale, is only in small part due to the bread itself, the ingredients and the making of it. Most is in the transport, the marketing (this is Hovis, all that advertising), the packaging, the profit margin of the supermarket, the Hovis company etc. Out of that 1.50 (say) you pay, maybe 20-30p is the ingredients. The cost of cutting is probably a tiny fraction of a penny. By the way, if you want a reasonable choice of sliced, packaged bread (branded, not "own-brand") at a good price, go to Iceland on Green Lanes (just up the street from the Salisbury) where most 800 g loaves are one pound. Also, they sell standard 4 pint plastic containers of fresh milk for one pound, which is much cheaper than any supermarket (OK, I know Iceland is chain, but it is very competitively priced, compared with the huge mark-ups of the "big boys" like Sainsburys or Tesco).
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Permalink Reply by Tim on
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And of course, opposite Iceland is our local baker Yasar Halim where they will slice, if such is your preference, their freshly baked bread.
Yasar Halim also now bake their own spelt loaves.
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But will they do it for a quid? All this "artisan" stuff is OK, but it doesn't feed the poor.
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