Dear Dave, I am a box of PG Tips and, in your first week in the job, I embody what’s gone wrong at Tesco. Three weeks ago, I featured in The Grocer 33. No big deal. As Britain’s biggest tea brand, I feature quite a lot. But imagine my embarrassment when I realised not only was I on sale at guest retailer Lidl for £2.99 - cheaper than any of the big four (though Morrisons at least gave it a run for its money at £3) - but that the retailer selling me at the highest price (£4.49) was Tesco. That’s right. A Unilever brand. On the eve of your arrival. And the most expensive outlet for it is Britain’s biggest retailer. Even Waitrose was flogging my bags cheaper (£4.18).

“I am the embodiment of what’s gone wrong at Tesco”

PG Tips, Unilever

I hardly think even the crack Unilever sales team would dare flog me to Tesco at a higher price than the one it sells me for to Lidl. It just doesn’t seem right that Tesco, which started out as a tea brand, and has spent 20 years telling everyone its actions have been governed by doing what’s right for the customer, can have so lost sight of its core values.

Shop floor staff want more support on the shop floor. But it’s not service or price. It’s both.

Topics