Steve_

Well it's a 60 mile drive, so 120 mile round-trip, so say $15 worth of gas and those people have got to be paid for their time, so say $20 per trip, so that's $35 for each run of one of his shoppers. Who are apparently bringing up merely a carload of stuff. And that stuff has got to be cleared by CBSA because it's for commercial sale, so that means all the CFIA regulations.

That's a pretty high overhead, so for it to make any money whatsoever I'd say it does indicate that stuff is more expensive in Vancouver because those are the shops he's competing with and that the selection isn't that good either.

And yes I have been to Vancouver several times and that was my first-hand impression, overpriced and the selection wasn't as good as say, Fred Meyer's in Bellingham. "Thrifty Foods" which is effectively a Sobey's, is definitely more expensive than in Calgary. And I'm not even including the tax.

beckiwoo

Costco, I find is cheaper then the UK Costco.

Raspberries (340g) is $3 there but in UK, a pack that size would be like £5.

If I can get my fruit and veg at a decent price, I am not going to complain

Lychee

Don't fool yourselves. If a store called Pirate M&S opened up in your city, you'd be there in in a heartbeat. The same cultlike following for the Trader Joe's branded products is no different than the love for M&S branded products.

An aside: I remember when there was a M&S in Richmond's Lansdowne Mall! Those were the days.

Shard

It doesn't seem so, given that even non-pirate M&S did not have enough customers to survive.

Oink

I think Treader Joes knickers would be rather itchy.

Steve_

We already had the whole price comparison thread, comparing the UK to Canada it seemed to vary quite a lot depending on what it was, but there was also the optical illusion of things appearing to cost more because of the exchange rate and packet sizes tend to be larger in Canada, so the price is higher but you get more. Depends on where you shop as well, you have to hunt a bit more for decent prices in Canada.

However comparing the US and Canada is a different thing, no question the US is cheaper than Canada overall for pretty much everything you buy in a shop (except prescription drugs). A staple of current affairs news in Canada.

Steve_

I wouldn't, haven't been in an M&S for many, many years. Couldn't care less. Although now you mention it, if they had the food section I might go.

I think the last time I went into an M&S was on the Isle of Man. Last time I was in the UK I noticed they'd started doing the "neighbourhood market" type of store but I never went in one.

Oakvillian

But, completely unsurprisingly, you're entirely missing the point of the Pirate Joe's shop. It is for people who like Trader Joe products but cannot otherwise buy them in Vancouver. Nowhere does this article, nor any of the several other articles that have been written about Pirate Joe's, claim that he is competing with mainstream Canadian supermarkets. Nowhere except in your unsupportable assumptions does the existence and profitability of Pirate Joe's reflect in any way, good or bad, on the Canadian supermarket chains. What the article does indicate, contrary to the suggestion in your comment, is that the imports are "waived [sic] through" the border crossing.

This is a story about an oddball retail company with a quirky, loyal customer base, owned by a notoriously private German firm, trying to shut down a maverick fan running an unofficial branch of the store. Multiple layers of courts have failed to find against Pirate Joe, as he doesn't appear to be passing off, or counterfeiting, or undercutting, or in fact competing in any way to diminish Trader Joe's business - quite the opposite, in fact it would appear. Where do Canadian supermarkets come into this? It's not even comparing apples to oranges: there is no comparison implied whatsoever.

rivingtonpike

Our local Canadian Superstore is very clean and modern. I find the prices on the whole to be cheaper than a quick squint at Tesco's website has similar stuff.

Steve_

Look it's a matter of opinion, I've stated mine. Law of supply and demand, it doesn't make sense people would go to his store if the same stuff was available locally elsewhere at a lower price, that's just basic economics.

And even I were to agree he isn't competing with local shops (which he clearly is) he's definitely competing with the Trader Joe's store in Bellingham, and he's still managing to make money at it, which indicates people are okay paying higher prices plus his mark-up.

There's this thing called "the law" you might want to look up. It does say quite clearly in the title he's doing it legally. I'm not implying that's a direct cost but it's clearly a hassle and it says he's paying these people for their time. They've got to sit in a line of traffic at the border going in both directions.

caretaker

Superstores in Regina and Vancouver are very similar but the seafood variety in Vancouver can be outstanding in season (no surprise). The first time I shopped there I was amazed to see 4 or 5 types of live oyster vs 1 here or possibly 2 if the Malpeques are available. Now that prices are up when in Vancouver I almost always go to Chinatown for either live or shucked. I won't pay double the price to shop for anything on Granville Island but will go for a walk around if my friends want to go there. The Drive has almost everything else I like from deli meats to produce. In Regina I do alright between the Loblaws chain (Superstore, Etra Foods, Independant, Wholesale Club), Giant Tiger, Ukrainian Co-op and N'goy Hoa Asian store.
(Note to self: Don't wait until the last minute, go to Pacific Fresh Fish and buy kippers in case I want kippers for Christmas morning - it's the only place that has them.)

scrubbedexpat091

Except generics which on my research appear to be cheaper in the US. Lots of $4 and $10 generics down there now.

Granted name brand is cheaper up here, but I am not so sure generics are.

BristolUK

I found a 2010 reference to Canada being one of the most expensive in the world for generics, but it might be something that varies from province to province and even by drug store depending on the dispensing fee.

I remember a few years ago changing where we collected my step son's Ritalin, one pharmacy was a little further away but so much cheaper that we could have collected it by taxi 3 or 4 times a year and still saved.

Province may also influence or restrict the price judging by what happened here a year or two back when the NB government restricted what could be charged for generics so it was more in line with other provinces.

I noticed recently that the full price shown on the slip for three months of one of my generics was just over $50 while I remember it being over $80 previously

Oakvillian

Did you even read the article you posted?

You are, of course, entitled to your own opinions. But, as we've all been reminded recently of Pat Moynihan's supposed quote, you're not entitled to your own facts.

Pirate Joe's is not competing with local supermarkets. He is providing a Canadian outlet for Trader Joe's branded products for which local shoppers, rather that face a schlep across the border to Bellingham and back, are willing to pay a little extra. "In Canada, people are willing to pay a markup of $1.50 or more for dark-chocolate-covered edamame, gorgonzola cheese crackers and salt-and-pepper pistachios" it says.

In the US, Trader Joe does, sort of, compete with other supermarkets - it's a bit of a different, kitschy-cool take on the traditional low-cost retailer with lots of private label dry goods. A bit like a budget-conscious version of the Marks & Spencer convenience grocery model that you so readily dismissed up-thread. But in all its marketing it's appealing, despite the price structure, to the "alternative" market demographic. The emphasis on gourmet/organic/vegan and other minority-interest food types is a good indication of the segmentation it's going after. For sure, Vancouver has a number of high-end alternative grocery stores - it's arguable that it is these "quirky" emporiums that Hallatt is competing with, rather than the mainstream supermarkets. And it is possibly because of the inflated prices and healthy margins that these stores enjoy that Pirate Joe's can continue trading - but at $300k a year wholesale costs ("Hallatt estimates that Pirate Joe’s spends, on average, $25,000 per month at Trader Joe’s") it's hardly going to dent the business of Wholefoods Warehouse, is it?

And it's also perfectly obvious from the article that Hallatt is not trying to hide anything from the CBSA. "Hallatt said he never lies at the border, where agents make polite conversation with the pirate they have encountered many times before. [...] The bags of groceries are waived across the border, meticulously logged in the Canadian customs system..."

MikeUK

I used to try doing that but the results tended to be focused on specific item or types of food not a general shop

My last approach and the one I'm sticking too

Added up my entire years grocery shopping for Canada over 2013 and averaged by month
then compared to my grocery costs in the UK for 2014 also averaged by month

This would compare mainly Loblaws/beer store to Tescos


UK was around 10% cheaper.... could be beer, could be wine, could be the Cheese

Throw into this that I worked at a brewery and also got free beer in Canada the cost may be lower still