Why are Spars so expensive?

In our village we have a spar and another supermarket., The Spar is always busy, does good offers, cooks food, provides freshly cooked Sunday Lunch, for collection or delivery and has a general delivery service. Also houses the post office and has a newsagent. Yes may be a little more expensive, but is widely used , and is a great assets to the village.

My partner used to be a rep and he says Tesco are awful to their suppliers. Delay paying them etc And when there’s BOGOF offer ( do they still offer those?) it’s the manufacturer that foots to bill for it. That’s why, although we do use the big supermarkets we try to use small independent shops as much as possible.

Its all mini co ops round our way...which are ok

RM,
i'm sure i did mean lax.
i think perhaps you did not understand my comment.

Spar stores are franchise operations, so in effect each one is a private business run as the owner determines, within the parameters of the branding which they pay to use.
so there will be great variation between outlets.

A local town near me only has one supermarket, Co-Op, and it’s ridiculously expensive but because it has no competition it can charge as much as it likes. The next nearest supermarket is 5 miles away and you’d need a car as it isn’t on a bus route.

midgey

Years ago the Spar shop owner told me that cat food (for example) was cheaper in supermarkets than he could buy it in in the cash and carry store. Nothing much changes!

Yes, that's true. If you ever visit a Bookers wholesaler (I did so for PTA) you will wonder how small retailers are profitable at all! Big supermarkets squeeze suppliers, squeeze out independently run retailers and independently day they will be all we have. Then watch the prices rise

welbeck

they are used by people who cannot drive.
another reason why the poor are so lax at pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

Lax means that they are too lazy to do something properly. Without transport, people have to carry all their supplies back from the distant supermarket on foot or by bus. Not wishing to do that doesn't signify laziness, in my book, more like not being superhuman! There are many reasons for someone not having or not using a car - ranging from financially not having one to physically being unable to drive one, due to age or to disability of some kind.

"another reason why the poor are so lax at pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" - It takes more than merely not being lazy to pull hard enough on their bootstraps to get themselves out of the quicksand of poverty that keeps dragging them back down. The poor have to have a great deal more strength and work a great deal harder to break free of debt and disillusionment than the affluent need to decide how to most profitably manage their lives and their money.

Because the poor and those without access to transport are a captive market. The less you have, the more you pay for most things, not just food.

I like my local Spar. They have a good fresh food offering, including bread from a local bakery, decent range of cans, dry goods, frozen stuff, takeaway sandwiches, booze etc, etc. The staff are friendly and helpful; it's an Evri parcel shop. - very useful as the post office is a long hike away.
Most of my shopping gets ordered online from a big supermarket but I'm happy to use Spar for fill-in shopping even if some of the prices are a penny or two higher.
There are a Lidl and an Asda with 10 minutes walk but I can't remember the last time I visited either.

maybe someone did understand my comment.
perhaps.
if not, no matter.
(having just read another who obviously did not . . . )

Our local Spar is really classy Quality fresh fruit and veg. A good meat section. Believe it or not you can buy live lobster and I have seen champagne at over £200 a bottle. A good few years ago they won a BBC Food and Farming award. There is an Asda and a Lidl a short walk away

LauraNorderr

Our local Spar shop is well stocked with a vast variety of fruit, veg, groceries, meat, alcohol, newspapers and much more. Not overpriced considering the convenience, friendly and very helpful staff who know all their customers by name and the only shop for miles.
Use it or lose it and we do use it.

I don't use ours often but DH goes in there at least once a week.

It's convenient, well-stocked, clean and reasonable. The toilet rolls were far cheaper than in Tesco (Andrex), the fruit and vegetables look fresh and the well-known wines are comparable in price too.

HousePlantQueen

midgey

Years ago the Spar shop owner told me that cat food (for example) was cheaper in supermarkets than he could buy it in in the cash and carry store. Nothing much changes!

Yes, that's true. If you ever visit a Bookers wholesaler (I did so for PTA) you will wonder how small retailers are profitable at all! Big supermarkets squeeze suppliers, squeeze out independently run retailers and independently day they will be all we have. Then watch the prices rise

Big supermarkets squeeze suppliers, squeeze out independently run retailers and independently day they will be all we have. Then watch the prices rise
The supermarkets screw the farmers right down on the price they pay them.

I think they are all independent actually welbeck - taking advantage being part of the group for marketing and branding... It isn't a franchise model like, say Dominoes (pizza) or Johnsons (dry cleaners). They were more like a co-operative of retailers supplied by big wholesalers.

I know they are all over the world though - in this country weren't they originally NAAFI stores?

I regularly use my local Spar, even though there are several corner shops in the area. They employ local people, their bread and dairy products are from local businesses. The shop is always well stocked and very clean. The prices are a bit higher than the big supermarkets but then, you have to compare petrol and parking charges.

welbeck

maybe someone did understand my comment.
perhaps.
if not, no matter.
(having just read another who obviously did not . . . )

If you mean me, I was objecting to the word "lax" in your post

^"they are used by people who cannot drive.
another reason why the poor are so lax at pulling themselves up by their bootstraps."^

Lax is a criticism of "the poor" for not tackling their minor task of not being poor, and implying that if they would just learn how to drive and get their fingers out on their other lazy habits they would become affluent.

It is not as simple as that, either with shopping out of town or with bootstrapping themselves out of poverty. Personal levitation usually requires a hidden support system.

have you ever come across the use of a literary device known as irony ?

mr google says,
Verbal irony is a figure of speech that communicates the opposite of what is said,

It does need to be obvious as irony, though. If it comes over too realisticly it loses its ironic purpose, and has the opposite effect to what is intended.

The main advantage to Spar, Londis, Nisa and the other minimart places is their opening hours. The local supermarkets all close at 4.00 on Sundays, but the Spar stays open until 10pm.

our local spar used to charge more for a pack containing extra free eg pack of 6 apple pies £1.50, pack of 6 apple pies plus 2 free £2. Needless to say do not go there anymore, would rather do without

essjay

our local spar used to charge more for a pack containing extra free eg pack of 6 apple pies £1.50, pack of 6 apple pies plus 2 free £2. Needless to say do not go there anymore, would rather do without

Same price per pie.
6 x 25p = £1.50
8 x 25p = £2
So no free pies, but you got what you paid for.

QuoteCumbrianmale56 I thought you had misspelt the title and were talking about SPAS, where you go to get pampered and relaxed. Mind you they are also just as expensive as SPARS.

Maybe I should try a SPAR instead?

So jealous.. our prices are heaps higher. Loaf of bread is $4 just for a basic one. Milk is double what you are paying. Nothing is cheap anymore now, just paid over $6 for a small lump of cheese from Aldi, our cheapest supermarket.