Archive of all comment and opinion articles – Page 496
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Comment & Opinion
Have the retailers been vindicated?
The provisional findings of the Competition Commission inquiry have not found any evidence of the abuse of buyer powerNow that the kneejerk cries of "whitewash", "sell out" and the like have subsided, we can take a more dispassionate...
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Comment & Opinion
Letter of the week - How can this 13% not be a barrier?
Is it only me who finds the provisional findings on pricing in the Competition Commission's groceries inquiry incomprehensible ('The beginning of the end?', The Grocer, 3 November, p4)? For the second time in seven years it has concluded that a...
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Comment & Opinion
Commission's findings are somewhat of a curate's egg
The interim report on the grocery market is a mix of encouraging statements, frustrating oversights and worrying conclusions I hope you have all enjoyed the 270 pages, plus appendices, offered as provisional findings by the Competition...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 3rd November 2007
Well, foul vassals, my accumulator bet was an unmitigated disaster. Not only did Andorra not win the Rugby World Cup, and not only did that asteroid fail to collide with Abbots Langley, but Freeman did manage to deliver his provisional findings...
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Comment & Opinion
Opinion - "The packaging issue is as much about shortfalls in recycling infrastructure as shortfalls in supermarket policies"
So the supermarkets are not as green as they claim to be and need to do more to reduce "excessive" packaging? Sounds like pots and kettles to me. It's all very well Joan Ruddock pledging vaguely in the Commons this week that she wants to "push the...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 27th October 2007
Ihave had an idea that must rank as genius even by the standards of the man who first saw the potential for Microwave Angel Delight Smoothies under the Pumsey's Price Palace "PPP" label back in 1989. Let's have an inquiry into supermarket inquiries,...
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Comment & Opinion
The tipping point for label overload has been reached
The Grocer's labels quiz highlighted the lack of consensus on what is an effective label. The industry needs to strike a common sense balanceSo, how did you all get on in the label quiz ('Think you know your labels?', The Grocer, 18...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 13th October 2007
How culturally sensitive of King - or should we say Sheikh - Justin to adapt so readily to the customs of JS's probable new owners, the Qataris! I think we all knew that the area around King's Cross (he's no reason to be, has he?) was something of a...
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Comment & Opinion
We must work together to protect staff from violence
Shopworkers and retailers need to be involved in tackling crime at work. Partnerships with the police and government offer a solution The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium's Annual Crime Survey make for depressing reading....
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 6th October 2007
Ilike to be in Amer-i-ca! OK by me in Amer-i-ca! Well actually it won't surprise you to hear that I find the entire continent utterly sordid: a sump of cheesy, fat, bloated idiots with a collective IQ lower than Kate Moss's bra size. But it is big,...
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Comment & Opinion
The drawing of omni-standards
If they are to tackle the huge sustainability challenge, retailers need to work with government on a single set of standards Awareness is rising rapidly in the food supply chain that it must address the sustainability challenge. But big companies,...
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Comment & Opinion
Stop wasting marketing spend. Learn to drive sales
a lot more effectively if companies analyse return on investment thoroughly and ensure sales teams follow the most effective strategiesLord Leverhulme, the founder of Lever Bros, famously remarked: "Half the money I spend on advertising...
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Comment & Opinion
our man from drip Don Pumsey - 1st September 2007
It was bound to happen. With El Gordo's thinly veiled threats still ringing in their ears, the mugwumps at Freeman's asinine Commission for the Long Grass must have realised that although they're past the halfway mark in their two-year group hug...
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Comment & Opinion
Organic should be for the masses
Organic food may be in danger of becoming a style statement or of falling prey to the financial demands of the major retailers As a faithful consumer of organic food for over two decades, I should be looking forward to September's...
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Comment & Opinion
Letter of the week - Foot and mouth's red tape chaos
There must have been an outbreak of Victor Meldrew "I don't believe it" impersonations by everyone associated with the export of dairy products to comments from Jim Begg, director general of Dairy UK, that "exports of dairy products to the EU will...
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Comment & Opinion
Pile Brit food high - but sell it for what it's worth
It's time to get ready for British Food Fortnight - but forget discounting. Focus instead on quality, freshness and environmental soundness The public perception of British food is changing. After years of negative reports, the consumer has now...
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Comment & Opinion
Letter of the week - Bottled water ban: sheer nonsense
The views of the Mayor of San Francisco and Professor Tim Lang are laudable, but a move to ban bottled water is naïve and far more 'nonsensical' than bottling it in the first place ('The true cost of bottling water', The Grocer, 14 July, p23). A ban...
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Comment & Opinion
Tougher times lie ahead for retail
Atrocious rain has hit commodity costs, food prices are going up, and consumers are being hit by higher interest rates. That means food retail growth will be squeezed Believe it or not, being forced to watch Coronation Street five times a week does...
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Comment & Opinion
Sudan 1, then Para Red.Now Red 2G. What's next?
The recent ban on Red 2G underscores the new level of scrutiny of food additives The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) decision to ban the food colouring Red 2G shows that food safety law in Europe is in a state of constant flux and...
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Comment & Opinion
Poor diets are a matter of choice
Food Standards Agency research has exploded the myth that people on low incomes are restricted to less healthy, poorer quality foodSo now we have it. A piece of definitive research by the Food Standards Agency that torpedoes a raft of...