What's with The Guardian at the moment? It's been running a series of 'scoops' about supermarkets and their price promotion tactics. They obviously don't read The Grocer.
It's revealed, for example, that Asda and Tesco put some of its prices up instead of down in the run-up to Christmas (The Grocer, passim). And "new analysis" of Asda's rollbacks showed that price cuts often amounted to only 1p, as we reported here.
The stories (in The Guardian, that is) led MP Tom Watson to submit an Early Day Motion in Parliament this week demanding that supermarkets publish a list of prices to stop the "deception".
Now hold on a second, but hasn't Mr Watson heard of the internetthingummyweb?
And Watson's ill-informed, kneejerk actions (the EDM has already received support from 44 MPs) encapsulates, in a microcosm, why managing the regulatory landscape is such a challenge for the food and drink industry.
It's not just because an MEP from Finland or Greece wants us all to fill in forms, in triplicate, about the left shoe size of our cleaners. It's also because our own politicians read the newspapers, and immediately believe the answer to a difficult question can always be found in legislative action.
With a raft of new employment regs imminent, and not content with tackling foot and mouth, e-coli, sustainability and the Waitrose Leckford estate, Sir Don Curry has stepped up to the plate, as the new chair of the Better Regulation Executive. He's calling for your help.
Incidentally, The Grocer, rising 118 places to 150th in a recent Business Superbrands survey, came higher than The Guardian, in 188th place. Marketing Week was 351st. Retail Week was in 497th place. Just thought you'd like to know.
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It's revealed, for example, that Asda and Tesco put some of its prices up instead of down in the run-up to Christmas (The Grocer, passim). And "new analysis" of Asda's rollbacks showed that price cuts often amounted to only 1p, as we reported here.
The stories (in The Guardian, that is) led MP Tom Watson to submit an Early Day Motion in Parliament this week demanding that supermarkets publish a list of prices to stop the "deception".
Now hold on a second, but hasn't Mr Watson heard of the internetthingummyweb?
And Watson's ill-informed, kneejerk actions (the EDM has already received support from 44 MPs) encapsulates, in a microcosm, why managing the regulatory landscape is such a challenge for the food and drink industry.
It's not just because an MEP from Finland or Greece wants us all to fill in forms, in triplicate, about the left shoe size of our cleaners. It's also because our own politicians read the newspapers, and immediately believe the answer to a difficult question can always be found in legislative action.
With a raft of new employment regs imminent, and not content with tackling foot and mouth, e-coli, sustainability and the Waitrose Leckford estate, Sir Don Curry has stepped up to the plate, as the new chair of the Better Regulation Executive. He's calling for your help.
Incidentally, The Grocer, rising 118 places to 150th in a recent Business Superbrands survey, came higher than The Guardian, in 188th place. Marketing Week was 351st. Retail Week was in 497th place. Just thought you'd like to know.
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