Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

You've touched on an issue that lies very close to the hearts of Little Englanders. Just don't mention the price of letttuce.

It is true that Australia would benefit tremendously from greater competition. The Coles/Woolworths duopoly is strangling suppliers as much as it is strangling consumers. We are in need of a huge shakeup via the introduction of new players in the marketplace. Unfortunately British supermarkets have proven extremely reluctant to try their luck in Australia. I still can't understand why.

What makes you think that? Virgin is a British company, and they were welcomed with open arms. BP is a British company and they've had no trouble. Vodafone is a British company and Australians were delighted when they arrived because it meant greater competition in the telco marketplace.

In fact, there are dozens of British companies operating in Australia and I don't know of a single one which has faced market resistance simply for being British. :confused:

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

The problem is that everyone here makes a good point.

Tesco etc here, would most definitely bring lower prices for the consumer.
It would also mean the very rapid erosion of local shops and services.

It really just depends what is important to you. I prefer my local shops and disagree strongly with the ethics that companies like Tesco employ, and the way that their march has taken away something from the way we live our lives. My view is quite correct.

But then so is the view of the poster that wants cheaper groceries in one place without trailing round numerous shops.

Someone loses out whichever way the die is cast.

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

Nope, not just you. Today in Balmain, 1 kg of Nectarines costs $4.98 in Woolworths (yes, the one with the reputation of being the most expensive in the country) and $9.99 in the local grocer! And 1 kg of minced pork - $8.50 in WW, $9.99 in the butchers.



I get a bit fed up with this too. I know that in an ideal world, we would all have plenty of time to trott around to half a dozen different vendors to get our bespoke groceries, but in the reality of my life I simply don't!

I'm a busy, single, professional person - I don't have time to trail around multiple shops for stuff that I can get all under one roof for one trip. If you're a stay-at-home mum that has plenty of time to wander around from shop to shop, then fair enough, but certainly not everybody does, nor wants to. I want to get in and out as quickly as possible, so that I can get on with something a bit more interesting than grocery shopping.

I would love to see more choice in the groceries game here, with a better selection of products in store. I used to go to Bi-Lo, but they don't have the range that Coles carry, and the prices are exactly the same as Coles anyway, so what's the point of them? May as well re-brand them Coles Lite...


S

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

As a Balmain resident I go to Leichhardt for the fruit & veg (much cheaper & better quality than Woolies or the Balmain greengrocers) and Glenmore for my meat (given that Glenmore also deliver to the Balmain butchers then the butchers just doubles the cost to the customer!).

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

Not again :eek:

Oct 2008

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

I can see your point Vash. I think what I meant was that because Tesco is such a big company in the UK and very much dominates the market, there would be a genuine fear (and this always makes a good news story for the media). The grocery industry down here is held very close to the hearts of Aussies from the battler farmers to the consumers themselves.

BP, Vodaphone, and Virgin, that are respectively Petroleum, communication, and aviation industries are by their very nature international in their operations so its going to be easier for them to expand overseas. Any new grocery company is going to face some resistance I believe wether its from the UK or not. You never know Walmart from yankeeland might give it try one day. What ever happens and who ever may come more competition will be a good thing i believe, (they could rename it OZMART....?).

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

ALDI are doing well. :thumbup:

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

Specsavers took quite an amusing bashing on the TV from another opticians purely because it was British. Think there was even a reference to the Isle of Wight as a tax haven :blink:

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

Well, that's hardly representative, is it? Just a classic example of dirty tactics in a competitive market.

Back to the topic... Four Corners ran an excellent program on the Coles/Woolies duopoly a couple of years ago. You can watch it online here.

:)

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

And Creatures's funny butcher, candlestick maker comment.

You know me - I am a not a supermarket tragic.

Frankly, if Tesco or Sainsbury arrived on these shores I would use them in a fit of curiosity. I would only continue to use them - in this order - if they were alot cheaper, (min 30pc) , closer, or carried a few things I found that piqued my interest. Distance has proved to be a big factor for us, not price or choice. Distance because I don't like driving along suburban roads and through lights when there is only 1 set between home, an 80k road and our current, brand new, (recently opened) Woolworths.

Until that time, I really couldn't give a monkies. I'm also, too busy - and fortunately, in economic terms, highly elastic when it comes to grocery shopping. But some groceries are expensive when compared to other markets, like the US, for example.

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

You posted you didn't know one single company that has faced market resistance for simply being British....and I enlightened you.

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

That's not market resistance, that's just a competitor's advertising campaign! :confused:

Market resistance = resistance from consumers, not snide remarks from competitors. Specsavers has been enormously successful in Australia.

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

As ABC said Aldi seems to be doing ok without changing their name?

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

Exactly. If Tesco, Walmart or Carrefour wanted to open up here there is not a thing that Coles or Woolworths could do about it.

Re: Tescos coming down under?
 

Tescos had just opened in Taiwan when I moved there. The local residents LOVED it for the prices, the variety and the jobs created. I believe they stocked a lot of local produce as well as european stuff. They even had a karaoke stand outside !

My only gripe was that they didn't accept my clubcard !

Dubai and Hong Kong both had M&S when I lived there....sigh.

I am just a lay consumer and am probably ignorant of the larger economic issues involved but it does seem a shame and to the detriment of its retail culture that this country is not open to foreign brands.