I feel as though I should and I'm sure I have heard it about it but no I don't

We must agree to differ - these brands form a significant chunk of their offering. I worked for UB who had various snack brands - Asda tried it on with them - the monies they wanted was huge - and de-listed everything this included McVities products, Hob nobs, Jaffa Cakes, Mini Cheddars. This lasted all of two weeks and you would hardly list McVities in the league of Coca Cola, Pepsi, P&G etc. Supermarkets have to have these products if they don't customers will go elsewhere.

Nooooo! You should never feed bread to ducks!

Quote Rock God X="Rock God X"Nooooo! You should never feed bread to ducks!'" birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders ... ckseat.htm

Quote Rock God X="Rock God X"Nooooo! You should never feed bread to ducks!'" birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders ... ckseat.htm

As i have said, check out what happened with Premier Foods, a huge deal in the business and see what has happened to NCG now Tesco delisted them, another huge brand.

They love it with strawberry jam on.



Not so keen on blackcurrent though, or marmalade.

Not one person I know. One lad had to take a week off because he couldn'y afford to get to work! They unilaterally reduced people's hours a few weeks ago.



Another young girl has been told to go in tomorrow for 6.00am even though she has recently advised she can't get there for that time. There answer "there are buses and taxis". Well a taxi is about a days pay!



The way staff are treated maybe at that one branch?? is, in my opinion, disgraceful and akin to how dock labourers used to be treated.



A short look at the internet would demonstrate these are not isolated examples (allegedly).



Compared with Morrisons and especially Waitrose they are dreadful. There does not seem from what I hear to be any attempt at positive motivation, it all seems negative and some may say abusive.

J Ch - my point was not about how the bread is produced but that allegedly unsold (and so no longer "fresh"icon_wink.gif bread is then repackaged as sliced after its otherwise use by date.

Sounds like you are saying that the Chorleywood process is "Traditional", not to me it ain't.

85% (or thereabouts) of supermarket bread is made by the Chorleywood process and, frankly, it's tasteless rubbish.





This will be the Euphonium in which Tesco bought a stake recently?

Would suggest that >90% of the bread sold in the UK is produced in this manner.



Euphorium is different - it bakes bread the "traditional" way, and only supplies a limited number of Tesco stores in the vicinity of there bakery.



The fact that Tesco own some of Euphorium is not relevant.

So, one week Tesco invest in an artisan bakery, the next said artisan bakery is supplying Tesco. No not relevant at all...

Indeed but that does not make it "traditional".





Which traditional way? ... I ask because you have previously conflated Chorleywood with traditional.





I think it is, especially as you described it as a partnership.

Euphorium supplies Artisan bread to a limited number of stores that are classed as "upmarket" locations, and can sell at the increased price point. It is delivered from the Islington bakery twice each day. It is scratch-baked from raw ingredients each day.



Euphorium have actually been supplying Tesco in Kensington for, I believe, over 2 years now - well before the investment.



Is the fact that Tesco invest in businesses a bad thing?: Harris & Hoole, Dobbies Garden Centres, Blinkbox, Dunnhumby, and more recently the outright purchase of Giraffe shows a commitment to both diversify, and in the longer term possibly enhance the shopping experience.

Nope, but customers don't like the wool being pulled over their eyes, see the Harris and Hoole debacle for details.

Oh and you'll notice that Tesco isn't so keen to have its shadow brand, One Stop identified as being a wholly owned subsidiary either. Why's that then?

Because it's aimed at a completely different demographic, selling a different set of SKUs via an entirely separate supply chain - some of the OS stores generate >80% of their turnover from tobacco sales, as the majority of locations came from the purchase of regional newsagents.

That's very corporate of you...



The vast majority of these stores were part of the T&S group that was bought by Tesco, the didn't put the chain together, they have added to it by buying chains like Europa and Cullens. None were newsagents.



So Tesco hasn't been able to bring its supply chain knowledge and clout to One Stop? It hasn't been able to negotiate better rents due to its size?



In reality they sell many of the same lines as Tesco Express and Metro yet have a much bigger mark up ([url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259842/Tesco-charging-higher-prices-groceries-chain-One-Stop-local-shops.htmlan average of 14% more[/url), but they don't want the average customer to know that after all many of these store are located in the poorer areas of town.

Yes, I'm corporate through and through.



The most recent acquisition for One Stop was Mills, which were predominantly newsagents.



As I said, the distribution footprint is completely separate to Tesco. Buying is in house, as is corporate purchasing. There is no combined leverage of scale.



I spent a few weeks in OS head office earlier this year, before coming to Thailand, and whilst there are definite synergies, there is currently no desire to integrate. It's a wholly owned subsidiary that is run as a completely separate business.

Anyone know what an "out of code" item is defined as by Tesco?

JUST EAT THE FS#KING STUFF DALLY AND STOP WORRYING!!!

According to Wiki it's around 80% in the UK.

Sorry - typo: bl00dy Ipad! Yes, around 80%.

"Scratch-baked from raw ingredients each day" ... that's utterly meaningless mate.

Chorleywood bread is also "Scratch-baked from raw ingredients each day", indeed that was the point of the invention of the process, to make it quicker from low-protein flour with very little proving time.



With no mention of which ingredients or what method(s) and time(s) of proving, it could just be upmarket rubbish in a nice old-fashioned paper bag.

For example, bread can be (and very often is) baked containing GM enzymes (labelled as mere "flour improver"icon_wink.gif, very large amounts of yeast to cut down on the proving time ... and even so-called "organic" bread is allowed to contain GM soya flour.



For what it's worth, I'm happy to accept that this particular "artisan" (meaningless term) bread is decent and fit to eat.

I am merely being deliberately picky to illustrate how semantics can be used to make sh11t sound palateable.

The bad thing is the higher and higher market share that Tesco and the likes of Tesco are taking.

These enterprises are already too large and too powerful, diversification is simply more market muscle and a greater stranglehold on entrepreneurship and enterprise.



"Enhance the shopping experience"? By Tesco-ification?

Leave it out, please.

I seem to remember watching a film once where a dystopian future Earth was effectively ruled over by one giant conglomerate known simply as 'The Company'. Everything that the inhabitants of Earth 'enjoyed' was supplied and controlled by The Company (including housing, food, policing etc). Whilst I'm not sure we're going to get to that stage any time soon, the casual privatisation of our public services and the dominance of giant companies like Tesco et al does seem to be leading us down that path.