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[Finance] Price gouging in a high inflation environment



KZNSeagull

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
21,093
Wolsingham, County Durham
On this particular product, there was *more than enough* price differential for Tesco to increase the price of their own-brand product to cover any increases in supply costs. The only reasonable reason I can think of is that they're actually unable to source the product currently (because brand labels will have first dibs).

Either way, it disappeared without explanation - which doesn't do them any favours given it happened only shortly after the big hoo-haa over cheaper own-brand products being withdrawn (and thus causing hidden inflation for those reliant on those products) started.

I missed this hoo-haa. What were the products involved please?
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,263
Uckfield
I missed this hoo-haa. What were the products involved please?

Jack Monroe (aka BootstrapCook on Twitter and a campaigner against poverty) brought it up earlier this year. Was able to pressure ASDA into restoring a lot of axed (and/or unstocked in many stores) low-price lines to their stores: https://www.theguardian.com/busines...food-ranges-more-widely-available-jack-monroe

(Although, this wasn't just about own-brand products - was also about the no-brand products, in Asda's case the "Smart Price" range which they'd been gradually withdrawing in favour of their more expensive own-brand products).
 


Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,889
Guiseley
Parking certainly seems to be a common one.
My usual Sunday car park in Leeds City Centre has gone up from £5 for 4 hours to £12.50.
 


KZNSeagull

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
21,093
Wolsingham, County Durham
Our local Tesco's have all taken the Tesco-brand (and far cheaper) cold-and-flu tablets off the shelf. Label is gone, so it's not because they're selling out - they're just not being stocked.

Jack Monroe (aka BootstrapCook on Twitter and a campaigner against poverty) brought it up earlier this year. Was able to pressure ASDA into restoring a lot of axed (and/or unstocked in many stores) low-price lines to their stores: https://www.theguardian.com/busines...food-ranges-more-widely-available-jack-monroe

(Although, this wasn't just about own-brand products - was also about the no-brand products, in Asda's case the "Smart Price" range which they'd been gradually withdrawing in favour of their more expensive own-brand products).

Thanks for that.

Re your Tesco own brand flu products (Tesco Max Strength cold and flu, Tesco max Strength all in one cold and flu capsule, Tesco max strength day and night cold and flu, Tesco MS Blackcurrent) , we have some in stock in our store (Bishop Auckland) and they are all showing as "ranged" meaning that they have not been removed from sale by head office. Suggest you ask next time you are in there - removal of the label doesn't really mean much tbh.
 


wuntbedruv

Imagine
Mar 18, 2022
585
North West Sussex
Different take for you here. How about raw material prices have gone through the roof due to supply issues the world over. Big brands sell more so buy more so maybe get a better price, or at least they can better absorb the higher prices into their own end price.

Tesco should make more money out of their own label, so why would they choose to drop it in favour of the branded product?
In East Grinstead was a company I knew who were " contract packers " called Sussex Pharmaceuticals. They made and produced pills and remedies for all the supermarkets and high Street Chemists, all from the same batches of Ibuprofen, Paracetamol and cold remedies , each with different packaging and prices, they also took tablets and printed Anadin Extra on them. The same batch used for other cheaper brand names.

There is no difference between any of the simple remedies be it own brand or named , same batches of pills in different boxes.

Look at the labels inside the boxes they all mention 2 or 3 companies as the makers.
 




Kinky Gerbil

Im The Scatman
NSC Patron
Jul 16, 2003
58,792
hassocks
Feels like some are just taking advantage as there is an expectation of rising prices.

Car parking is a classic example. Heathrow mid stay was charged £67 for 36 hours. Birmingham NEC was £10 a couple of years back now £16.95

Dunno... Reckon it might have something to do with the Billions lost as well....
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,952
Surrey
Taxi's to Gatwick hiked up too, plus £5 drop off. Salfords to Gatwick used to be £10, last charge was £24. Complete piss take

There is no way Salfords to Gatwick has been anything like £10 for at least a decade, maybe more! You want a cab driver to take you a 10-15 minute journey for ten quid with petrol approaching £2 a litre?

For F**ks sake
 






Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
Meanwhile a flight ticket from Sweden to England would cost me £10 (or £10.53 to be exact) at the moment. Strange world.
 








southstandandy

WEST STAND ANDY
Jul 9, 2003
6,047
I've managed to circumvent the expense of booking parking at the 02 in London now. Used to just pay the £25 for an allocated space and had done with it.

Now (as a Cineworld card holder) when I go to a gig there, I turn up and park for rougly 6 hours in the everyday hourly charge car park. Before going to the concert I get a cinema ticket for any old film I'm not going to see and when I leave later, they will redeem you 4 hours of parking time having been a 'cinema visitor' (even though I actually went to the gig).

Last time I did this I paid no more than £5 to park for the evening, as opposed to the £25 allotted gig parking that can be booked.
 


drew

Drew
NSC Patron
Oct 3, 2006
23,609
Burgess Hill
Will be interesting to see what profits the big supermarkets declare next year!

We've already had the oil companies making massive excess profits when they could have passed that on to their customers. Instead we have to rely on a windfall tax to recoup some of that money.
 






Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
72,315
Living In a Box
12 days parking in July. £144 at Gatwick.

£85 for a 4-night break going next Wednesday Gatwick long-stay South
 


dejavuatbtn

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
7,573
Henfield
A person in my wife’s fitness class didn’t think that reducing the lessons from an hour to 40 minutes was the equivalent of a 50% rise.
What really gets me has been the gradual reduction in size of packaging contents and the overall reduction in portion sizes has eroded the pound in your pocket. We bought some Calipos this week - blimey, these have really shrunk.
 


Hugo Rune

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 23, 2012
23,674
Brighton
The kûntïsh Tories will tell you that rising inflation is down to the wage increases, especially in the public sectors.

Of course, any economist worth his salt will correct that assumption by pointing the finger in the direction of greedy corporations making huge profits. Take Unilever for example:

This horrid government is here to protect their ever increasing profits, not to keep inflation down. They are not marmite either, most people hate them and want them out other than the super rich and super stupid.
 








nicko31

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2010
18,574
Gods country fortnightly
The kûntïsh Tories will tell you that rising inflation is down to the wage increases, especially in the public sectors.

Of course, any economist worth his salt will correct that assumption by pointing the finger in the direction of greedy corporations making huge profits. Take Unilever for example:

This horrid government is here to protect their ever increasing profits, not to keep inflation down. They are not marmite either, most people hate them and want them out other than the super rich and super stupid.
A mate of mine is a consultant in flux retail and deals with most is the supermarkets.

The Unilever story very much echoes what he tells me. Major brands have used the inflationary environment to bolster their profits.

There’s a lot of brand power out there and supermarket buyers can’t really do much to stop it. If you are Tescos are refused to stock say Branson Pickle due to a price rise you’d do it at your peril. The consumer would be off to Sainsbury’s in a flash.
 


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