We barely notice them but these giant sheds have played a pivotal role in the journey of our food since the major retailers started taking greater control of the food supply chain in the 1970s. Most of the food we eat will have passed through a regional distribution centre (RDC) on its way to our plates. Almost all supermarket food (80% of the food we eat at home), and much sold by independent retailers too, is supplied via RDCs: trucked in from the producers, packhouses and manufacturers; briefly stored (warehouse time and space is money); then trucked out again on the supermarkets’ dedicated fleets.
During the Competition Commission’s lengthy inquiry into the grocery market in 2006 to 2008, the media was b u z z i n g with questions about the supermarkets’ alleged practice of landbanking (holding or controlling land for future development or to impede the entry of competitors to the local market). It all went rather [...]
The Co-operative Group has announced today that it’s agreed to buy Somerfield for just short of £1.6 billion. The co-op is different from other retailers. It’s owned by its customers (those who elect to become members) and has a long commitment to quality, healthy food and to the environment and animal welfare. This is a momentous development in British retail.
Barack Obama supports US union’s campaign for union engagement and better working conditions at Tesco’s US Fresh and Easy stores
The Competition Commission’s provisional findings include real criticism of supermarket practices with suggested remedies that might just tackle some of the problems. But suggested changes to the planning system would be nothing less than a bonanza for the larger retailers and spell disaster for town centres and the small independent operators.
Amazon.com has today announced a new venture: AmazonFresh will be delivering fresh (and frozen and “shelf-stable”) foods, ordered online, to households in Seattle. The foods available will include “highest-quality fresh fruits and vegetables” and a “leading assortment of natural, organic, and specialty brands”. Some of the produce is described as “farm-fresh” but there’s no further [...]
Check prices now Check today’s price of milk in Tesco / Asda / Sainsburys / Waitrose – Ocado with mySupermarket.co.uk The Rising Price of Milk Two weeks ago, Tesco was widely praised in the media for announcing two initiatives: To increase the price UK dairy farmers receive for milk, while not raising the price of [...]
Andrew Simms, policy director of the New Economics Foundation, yesterday compared the big retailers to invasive species like the Nile Perch and Japanese knotweed. Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea and related species) also springs to mind, its superficially attractive fruiting bodies sprouting up prolifically while insidiously killing off surrounding plants. Over the last few decades, the [...]
