Are massive supermarket profits a good sign?

When newspapers and news agencies report high profits by supermarkets, it always seems to be done with a thumbs up tone, a well done that wealthy food seller.

Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t news sources be on our side – the ordinary consumers’ side – and challenge the massive profits that some companies all but boast about.

Take today’s news from the BBC, for instance. Tesco is joining forces with Carrefour, which is - we are told – Europe’s largest food retailer with sales of around £78 billion.

Tesco’s profits, seemingly for the last year, are £1.3 billion.

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Isn’t it obvious then that if the customer is to be helped with ‘lower prices’, then the profit must be cut back. And that’s part of the current on-going news of the big supermarkets’ concern over the discount supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl.

You don’t have to have a higher degree in sales to spot the big difference between the discounters and the, er, non-discounters, I bought six tomatoes tonight at Aldi for 39p. Looking online, the same product at Sainsbury’s is 65p and 69p at Tesco.

I bought a grapefruit for 48p at Aldi, and at Sainsbury’s they are 50p and 55p, and 50p at Tesco. A 200g packet of fruit and nuts was 56p at Aldi with a similar packet at Sainsbury’s for £1.48 at Sainsbury’s for 200g. Tesco’s Fruit and Nut Mix is £1.50 for 250g.

Our coffee-mad world

And in a coffee mad world, I bought a pleasant Aldi-brand Colombian ground coffee, 200 grams for £1.99. Sainsbury’s cheapest is its Fairtrade Colombia coffee, 227g, for £3.50. Tesco offers its Colombian ground coffee at £2.29 for 227 grams.

Sainsbury and Tesco supermarkets never seems ghost shops on my visits, but Aldi and Lidl! You often just about need to fight your way to get to a teller, except that they are usually the politest of cashiers and customers are remarkably tolerant. Continues on the blogs for my ocean adventure book, Sailing to Purgatory, at SailingToPurgatory.com