Like I said earlier I think they’re out of ideas. Even if you take the one-off costs of the Argos re-alignment out of the equation, profits have fallen 15%.
Working at Sainsbury’s was my first job as a student and I have fond memories of the company and it’s forward thinking culture (at the time).
How can the single-minded vision or ‘moon-shot’ of ‘increasing shareholder value’ really inspire and drive the kind of ideas, passion and culture needed by individuals, in any sector let alone food retail, to make it a success.
Price investment has driven the the operating profit number down. This is to keep pace with the the discounters to effectively match them on price giving customers less reason to want to shop elsewhere. Given that Aldi and Lidl are not ‘required’ to generate any profit in the UK, it makes for a tough challenge for the big four to keep up. Great for consumers but bad for the industry and jobs in the longer term.
Presumably areas in store that sell fragrances, makeup and personal care products (often also suitable for Christmas gifts )
On first reading I was thinking along the lines of ‘areas of natural beauty’ e.g. the Lake District too, if that’s what you were thinking! It’s funny how different industries have different terminology.
The big Sainsbury’s in East Dulwich has also gone down hill,
There’s a documentary series which goes behind the series at Sainsbury’s called Inside the Supermarket on BBC1 on Thursdays at 8pm. The first episode which is on BBC iPlayer went behind the scenes with the so-called Flower Team who attempted to introduce a high-end Mothers Day bouquet with a vase for £35. It tanked of course.
It also gives us as customers an insight into why the company is so dire at the moment, there are people on the payroll who are there looking at how everything is designed, but no real actual proper retail knowledge, while shop floor staff have poor morale.
What I notice regularly at Bell Green Sainsburys is how often customers are stopped as they leave the store that security guards can rummage through their bags to check for stolen goods. This is not due to customers trying to steal, but instead because the security tag has been left on. This leaves the customer feeling highly embarrassed that passing customers believe her/him to be a suspected thief. Its time this awful state of affairs ended? and it’s interesting that such false stops seldom happen in either Lidl’s or Aldi’s.
As far as I’m aware, Lidl don’t tag high value goods. Sainsbury’s and ASDA do and I’ve been caught at ASDA a couple of times. I could tell you why the alarms go off at Sainsbury’s but that might play into the hands of potential shoplifters so I won’t.
I have scrolled through some of these posts! Some positive, many negative. These supermarkets are going hammer & tongs to deliver standards at the best of their ability. As I see it we’re all in the same boat- sailing without a soar. Don’t vilify supermarkets or their workers. Yes, maybe it’s not the experience you crave for but people are getting put out of jobs daily & you’re concerned that you’re supermarket experience is not great- please gain perspective.
I think little Forest Hill Sainsbury’s had been great in all this. I would prefer it if the minority still not wearing masks were clamped down on but generally it is great
To be fair, this topic was started in November 2019, before the pandemic was known about and when the situation was a lot different to the present day.
I so agree! I have two children and to be honest I won’t take them to supermarkets. I’ve not been there for a while but masks should be mandatory-surely? If not then we need to question this
Thank you moderator for flagging that many posts were pre Covid. Fortunately, I have retained my job but just wanted to highlight potential difficulties within the retail/supermarket sector so just want to remain positive
I haven’t been in person to either for a while but my view was always that the FH branch was better run that the Bell Green one. The range is smaller at FH but availability was better and the staff friendlier. Bell green has a bigger range but was not well run in my view. Not been to either recently so things could have changed.
I realised I was responding to older posts and based on my pre covid experience of the two stores.
I 100% agree that the retail workers are heroes of the Covid situation. I used to work for sainsburys (hence my interest in how the stores are run!) and I’m so proud of how all workers have kept going through out.
I remember going to FH sainsburys at the start of the pandemic In the ‘panic but’ time, when customers were stripping the shelves faster than locusts. seeing the staff desperately trying to do a full replen while the store was open , had I not been at the time a key worker who needed to get back to work I honestly would have just asked them to give me a pallet of stuff to get out!
Pretty certain Sainsburys has made it a mandatory requirement now, whereas before, it was optional. I noticed a difference when I was in there yesterday - don’t think I saw a single mask-less person which was a stark difference from the week before.
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