Archive of all comment and opinion articles – Page 495
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Comment & Opinion
Our man from DRIP
Don Pumsey at the Department of Retail Infrastructure and Pricing
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Comment & Opinion
Time to wake up to food security
Rising fuel and crop prices and growing global competition for food mean we should take British farming far more seriously Oil breached the symbolic $100 a barrel mark last week. OK, it was the action of a solitary small trader, making...
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Comment & Opinion
Our man from DRIP
Don Pumsey at the Department of Retail Infrastructure and Pricing
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Comment & Opinion
Britain's approach to diet is giving US food for thought
The UK is viewed as leading the world in addressing and promoting the need for nutritious and healthier food. Manufacturers must deal with that. Iwas staggered recently to hear from a senior representative of a US-based global food...
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Comment & Opinion
Editor's Comment: Puff pastry-thin margins in grocery may be its saving grace
Welcome back. And here's an early prediction on Christmas trading. The figures aren't out till next week but from our anecdotal survey of leading grocers and grocery experts, the miserable Christmas that experts were predicting appears not to have...
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Comment & Opinion
2008: the year the gloves will come off in grocery
The grocery trade is set for a bumpy ride at the start of a year in which the industry is expected to undergo radical change and evolution As we shake off the Christmas festivities and look ahead to 2008, it is clear that the year will be...
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Comment & Opinion
Our man from DRIP
Don Pumsey at the Department of Retail Infrastructure and Pricing
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Comment & Opinion
Suppliers hobbled by the fear factor
The idea of an ombudsman to protect suppliers is not really viable unless the issues of anonymity and fear of retribution can be resolvedDo suppliers need an ombudsman to protect their interests? It's hard to see why multinational...
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Comment & Opinion
Our man from DRIP
Don Pumsey at the Department of Retail Infrastructure and Pricing
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Comment & Opinion
Letter of the week - Data 'inadequate for requirement'
It is misleading to suggest that the Competition Commission has failed to understand properly the Experian/Goad data used in our inquiry or that we rejected more suitable data ('Experian advice ignored', The Grocer, 1 December, p4). We chose not to...
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Comment & Opinion
GM crops remain commercial folly
Why are arguments still being made in favour of GM crops when the public and - thankfully - the industry are so opposed to them?As his parting shot before retiring from his post, the government's chief scientist, Sir David King, treated...
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Comment & Opinion
Get ready for the busiest trading period of the year
More staff, more consumers... and more theft. Retailers need to be prepared on all frontsDespite recent reports that footfall numbers and high street spending are down, Christmas is still Christmas and there are considerable sales to be...
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Comment & Opinion
Don't leave policy bereft of evidence
If food policy is to do its job, it has to be based on hard evidence, not merely reflect vested interests. And politicians must take charge of itThe real world of food policy has a sometimes tortuous relationship with evidence. Cynics...
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Comment & Opinion
Letter of the week - we're addressing the labour issues
The Grocer is right to highlight the issues raised in its article on migrant labour ('Sleeping Soundly, The Grocer, 24 November, p30). We should make clear, however, that many companies are working hard to combat these issues, despite pressures to...
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Comment & Opinion
Stop vilifying the drinks industry for alcohol abuse
Most Britons drink responsibly. It is time for the media to stop blaming the drinks industry for the behaviour of a reckless minorityAm I alone in thinking the attack on the UK drinks industry has gone too far? It is almost impossible to...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 1st December 2007
Readers whose critical faculties are still undamaged by supermarket booze that is - praise be! - cheaper than mineral water may recall I received two dud CDs from a sweet young thing I'm cultivating at HM Revenue & Customs. When I couldn't find...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 24th November 2007
Ginger Bond would struggle to look suave in a £5k whistle from Savile Row, let alone a £35 plastic tux from George. But you've got to admire his daring. Timing his intimate tête-à-tête with half the retail hacks in London to clash with King Justin's...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey
The symptoms were obvious from the outset. The sound of clucking and gobbling ceased abruptly down the road at Defra, and all of Mr Benn's merry men were shovelled into sealed trucks and taken up to East Anglia to run round like headless...
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Comment & Opinion
Forget inquiries, it's time to move on and collaborate
The industry may be divided over the Competition Commission's findings but it's clear the food supply chain needs to changeWhen the Competition Commission announced its provisional findings on grocery practices, coincidentally on the...
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Comment & Opinion
One Stop's shock supermarket call
Bogof was pleased to receive, through his letterbox, a flyer for his local convenience chain, One Stop, this week. In the run-up to the festive season it promised visitors a range of bogofs and other offers. "Would you believe it!"...