Sugar shortage !

[For want of a better word]

I do not like TESCO....... but needs bee when the devil drives!

Midday today.. as I was passing anyway... I went into Tesco's out of town store at Callington Cornwall (Kelliwik Kernow.. for those west of Bodmin !)

I picked up 7... 5Kg bags of white granulated sugar priced reasonably at £3.99 per bag, I then asked the nice security guard, who always likes to follow me around the store, if he could find out if there were any more 5Kg sacks in the storeroom?

I was then met with the Store Manageress and two minders who politely informed me that there is a sugar shortage and really I was being very greedy and depriving other shoppers by taking ALL the sugar !

I was told that in no uncertain terms that really I should be restricted to 6 bags at a time.... I WAS DEPRIVING OTHER CUSTOMERS !!!!


TESCO... get your act together !

 

[Poly Hive]

Dear me how selfish.

Dear me how inept of Tesco not to manage their affairs better... only been trying to get my local "superstore" to buy in more flour as we always buy all there is... the concept that they are missing out on sales because there is nothing to buy seems to bypass their mentality totally. Actually their floor staff as as responsive as them poor souls at B&Q. And they definitely check in the little grey cells in the staffroom pre shift.

PH

 

[roche]

Reminds me of the shop keeper on Guam, who stopped stocking Levi jeans because people just kept on buying them, so she never had any stock...

 

[nosmoking]

And who was it that said, 'stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap'? 8loody hippocrates. About time up mere mortals taught the supermarkets a lesson! Most of us have enough food in our cupboards/fridges/freezers to last a while. How about us boycotting THEM all until OUR cupboards are bare? (Well, nearly anyway!)

 

[itma]

The problem is "just in time" stock-keeping.

They predict resupply date (and the amount of stock that needs to be held) based on consumption rate data.

Which pre-supposes a fairly steady sales rate.
And that gets totally screwed when some bloke turns up, once a year, and clears out all the stock on hand ...

 

[Oscarmonster]

They never stop me clearing the shelf of Crunchy Nuts.
They never have any of the 5 kg bags at my Tesco, some greedy bu@@er always beats me to them

 

[Chris B]

And who was it that said, 'stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap'? 8loody hippocrates.

The medics among us might disagree.

 

[Luminos]

The medics among us might disagree.

 

[drstitson]

"Bloody Hippocrates"

Interesting - back at graduation in 1992 i knew it was something to do with swearing an oath but didn't realise that it should be that type!!!

 

[alanf]

The problem is "just in time" stock-keeping.

They predict resupply date (and the amount of stock that needs to be held) based on consumption rate data.

Which pre-supposes a fairly steady sales rate.
And that gets totally screwed when some bloke turns up, once a year, and clears out all the stock on hand ...

That's spot on. This might be counter-intuitive but they don't actually want your business. I suspect something similar is going on in this thread.

been trying to get my local "superstore" to buy in more flour as we always buy all there is... the concept that they are missing out on sales because there is nothing to buy seems to bypass their mentality totally.

To a supermarket there are far worse things than missing out on sales. Under the shiny surface, supermarket chains are actually massive logistics chains. The operating principle is based on the idea that most of the profit is in steady state transfer from supplier to car park and upping the percentage of the high margin items. Sugar and flour, along with milk and some others are a basic commodities priced to compete with rivals but they are all bulky, take a lot of shelf space and are not really profitable. They would rather not stock them at all. But then every customer who needed one of the basics would go to a rival and all the profitable high mark up shopping (brands like Crunchy Nut) would move there too.

Leaving them without stock of a basic item on a regular basis will drive some regulars to rivals and there's a chance they might not be back. That's a far worse outcome. They can limit stocks and take the hit or they can stock enough to satisfy bulk purchasers. Attracting bulk purchasers would mean filling the shelves with low margin goods. More bulk customers mean they get cleaned out even more often. All this is the complete opposite of what they want. So stocks are limited and the fact that it deters a small number of would be bulk purchasers is actually leading to the result they are aiming for.

Addition: I have spent far too long in the past with strategists from large companies.

 

[dickndoris]

77p per kilo at booker still. In the 1kg x 15 bag packs and definitely no shortage as there was mountains of it. Might go get some more for the spring.

 

[For want of a better word]

77p per kilo at booker still. In the 1kg x 15 bag packs and definitely no shortage as there was mountains of it. Might go get some more for the spring.

Problem is that us country yokels live far far away from a Bookers... I think it is a Tory plot to continue the land clearance of us peasant beekeeperers by taxing diesel at such a high level..... then they can put more sheep on the land!

Think I will emigrate to NewZealand ... but the bloody Frenchies have blockaded Plymouth Millbay AGAIN !!!!​

​

 

[Jed D]

Someone has to say it.....
You might not of got all you wanted ' but "Every little helps" !!!

 

[thorn]

Icanhopit was told there was a "sugar shortage". Has anyone heard anything about this, or was it just misspeaking by the Tesco manageress?

 

[itma]

Icanhopit was told there was a "sugar shortage". Has anyone heard anything about this, or was it just misspeaking by the Tesco manageress?

I think she probably just meant "when I don't have any more stock out at the back".

 

[Red Bee]

77p per kilo at booker still. In the 1kg x 15 bag packs and definitely no shortage as there was mountains of it. Might go get some more for the spring.

But 75p per kilo in my nearest Bookers lol.

 

[WelshPaul]

I work in wilkinsons distribution in major, and we've just had a large order of sugar for most stores, maybe they have brains.

 

[Into the lions den]

There is indeed something of a shortage, but enough to be showing up at retail level in the UK? Not really. However, bulk supply sugars and syrups ARE a good bit dearer than last year at this time, and it is down to a small shortfall on the world market. I understand something like 1 to 3 % less production than demand, but its on such small margins that price hikes are built.......10% short and its a serious price spike that comes along.

Retail sugar is a different matter, and a lot of the time its price bears no relation to the actual world market, and a lot of relation to the supermarkets comparative basket against others.

If its no skin off your nose emptying out all these bags and taking trips to the supermarket, its by far the cheapest way to buy.................the supermarkets are subsidising you.

 

[alanf]

Icanhopit was told there was a "sugar shortage". Has anyone heard anything about this, or was it just misspeaking by the Tesco manageress?

"Shortage" in the sense that there is nothing she can do to increase supply. Her stock level is set by algorithms at head quarters. She is even told which shelf it goes on and the length of shelf it will have.

Worldwide, white sugar prices are near the lowest they have been in the past year. Currently around 570 US dollars a tonne compared to October 2011 when they rose to over 700. If there was a shortage the price would be rising. As I wrote earlier, it's a low margin commodity. 57p a kilo if you buy in thousand tonne quantities for delivery in a couple of months. 80p a kilo when it's in small packets on your local supermarket shelf right now. Add in the cost of packaging, spillage, transport, staff and buildings and there's not a lot of profit in getting it there.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Tescos and sugar Bunch of incompetent idiots.