11/17/2008: "Price rise in supermarket beans!"

im no fan of the daily mirror, but credit where credit is due, they lead with the headline on monday, with a story that comes as no surprise to penny pinchers

the price of supermarket own brand beans has gone up by more than 50% in the past month!

people who work in the "bean world" are baffled and cannot explain this price rise, the supermarket concerned state that its down to packaging costs!

its just the latest in a long line of supermarket own brand products thats rising in price.
the theory that supermarkets save us all money is a complete fallacy!
supermarkets are marketing showrooms, who dont give a jot about the recession and how people are struggling to get by, they are sales machines.

the supermarket own brand prices are more often than not just a few pence below the named brand we all know, but cost the supermarket considerably less to produce and put on their shelves, which equals bigger profits for the company.
- they swamp the named brand in a particular area, with their own brand alternative at less than half the price of the established named brand
- they then reduce the amount of named brand product on the shelf, so it runs out and you have to pick up the supermarkets own brand or go without.
- often the named brand product disappears altogether or is moved to a lower shelf whilst the price of the own brand creeps up to just below the named brand

its a marketing con trick!

on baked beans for example, the supermarket's claims to be "saving customers money" has no credibility whatsoever.
raising the price of a tin of beans from 66p to 84p and lowering the shelf position of the product, for two months, then reducing the price back down to 63p and advertising it as an exclusive offer, is not on.
its not just beans, its on major product lines, if milk is so cheap now that there is a price war on it, saving the customer a penny, why has the supermarkets own cheese gone up by over a pound during the same time?
why "save" your customer 5p on a litre of fuel, if they spend over Ł50 in your store, at a time when petrol prices should be falling in line with actual costs (which they are not) - at a time when inflation is dropping as people hold onto more of their money, yet productsinstore continue to rise in price?

dont take my word for it, try this simple experiment:

pick out 5 or 6 products and keep your eye on them every week you visit the supermarket, youll be surprised at how the price moves around!