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If all of the supermarket chains in the UK except for Aldi and Lidl disappeared, would you care?

As the discussion title


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gordonthemoron

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if we only had Lidl and Aldi, there'd be a lot of redundant shop staff as those two don't employ anywhere near as many people comparatively (per store and taking into account the amount of money they take)
 
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AM9

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... fancy metropolitan elite ;)
You forgot to mention 'EU loving'. Trouble is I'm a retired baby boomer so really I should believe that price is everything and everything good about the EU is fake news. After all, I am an ex Essex boy! :)
 

bramling

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That would leave those two companies with no competition and who is to say that finding themselves in such a situation, especially if Britain had left its membership of the EU, they would not become totally different organizations in marketing to what they are at present.

Really like this post! Thoughtful and technical, rather than emotive.
 

Tracked

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Probably not that much, I mostly shop at Aldi anyway, there's a Morrison's near me that I go to sometimes - it's conveniently sited on the way home from work and it opens earlier than Aldi on Sundays (though the tills at both open at the same time), but it's not essential. There's a Lidl near me but too far down the wrong end of the village (and over a busy level crossing) for me to bother with.
 

Andrew S

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I mostly use Sainsburys, and ocassionally Lidl for laundry detergent and other household items. Oh, eggs are cheap at Lidl too, and I got some lovely orange high viz gaff tape from them recently. A lot of their food is a bit variable in quality in my experience.
 

ComUtoR

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My 'local' is Asda and I tend to do my main shop there. For branded goods they are possibly the most reasonable. I like some of their own brand, although they just got rid of the best gammon steak :(

My 'convenience' is a Tesco Metro and is about a minute by car and on my way home. Super local but very overpriced and you pay for the convenience. Mostly get Wine and Milk.

My 'nice' is Marks and Spencers. Some of their food is great quality. I don't buy much from there but I do buy a few regular items.

My 'when I'm feeling flush' or 'need something specific' I pop into John Lewis. I like them for the more unusual items or the more high end product. Recently I have been dropping in for Lobster tails. They are reasonably priced and most importantly they are readily available. I can't find Lobster tails in Asda. (not a regular purchase) They also do a very nice cheese counter where you can try before you buy and you can get locally sourced cheeses. They also do some nice cordials that the kids have taken a liking too. I've have also used them for some niche home baking products.

Lidl.. I love their bakery ! I'm addicted to those cheese diamonds. I was recently recommended their meat and I've given it a go. It's certainly cheaper. A lot of their products I really don't like. Even their Cien hand gel smells weird :/ They win blind tasting wine awards too and I recently tried their Chenin Blanc.

I get my petrol from Asda too.

We need variety and competition.
 
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507021

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I don't go to either very often, although I do like Lidl's bakery, especially the excellent pastries.

Here, we get the majority of our weekly shop from Asda, and the rest from Iceland.
 

Busaholic

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Nearest Aldi to me is 40-odd mile return journey, so I've never been in one. We have a Lidl only a mile or so away, but not in a direction I go in, so no visits since its relocation two years ago. I can't abide Asda, but luckily have not lived near any since student days 35 years ago! The other three are within a stone's throw of each other just outside town; only Tesco has a free daytime bus service from town, but the others have bus services not far from the stores, not that I'd want to lug too much on foot. I use them all at times, partly because each stocks certain favourites.
 

Howardh

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I'm a regular at Lidl and while it's possible to pop in for a loaf and come out with a pneumatic drill; Lidl doesn't have those little extra things you could pop in for, eg. SD cards, stationery, pair of undies etc that you can guarantee the larger Tescos/Morrisons have. Morrisons, in my opinion, do cakes much better, Lidl have a great range of sweets and beers. A negative for Morrisons is their *&£$# musac, grrr. There's only so many times in your life you can listen to The Pretenders before you go loopy....

EDIT; Iceland are good for an once-a-month frozen top-up + other stuff, reliable and easy to navigate delivery service too.
 

cactustwirly

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As a student I go to Lidl. as it's a 5 minute walk away from my house, and it's cheap.
The quality is good, much better than ASDA IMO, and on par with Tesco.
Also, I like the fact that it's quick, I can do the shop in about 15 minutes
 

175mph

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I'm a regular at Lidl and while it's possible to pop in for a loaf and come out with a pneumatic drill; Lidl doesn't have those little extra things you could pop in for, eg. SD cards, stationery, pair of undies etc that you can guarantee the larger Tescos/Morrisons have. Morrisons, in my opinion, do cakes much better, Lidl have a great range of sweets and beers. A negative for Morrisons is their *&£$# musac, grrr. There's only so many times in your life you can listen to The Pretenders before you go loopy....

EDIT; Iceland are good for an once-a-month frozen top-up + other stuff, reliable and easy to navigate delivery service too.
Morrisons seem to have a habit of interrupting my favorite parts of songs I enjoy with in store announcements. :{
 

mmh

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With two members of my family having an intolerance to cows' milk, I have to say yes. Aldi and Lidl don't carry any soy or goats' milk-based products that I've seen.

(We shop at Aldi regularly, but have to combine it with a visit to another supermarket.)

You're probably meaning products made with milk rather than milk drinks I imagine, but Aldi do sell soya milk, I buy lots of it. It's more likely to be near the tea and coffee than the refrigerated milk, going by the stores I'm used to. It's also far cheaper than the equivalent in a Sainsbury's Local!
 

krus_aragon

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You're probably meaning products made with milk rather than milk drinks I imagine, but Aldi do sell soya milk, I buy lots of it. It's more likely to be near the tea and coffee than the refrigerated milk, going by the stores I'm used to. It's also far cheaper than the equivalent in a Sainsbury's Local!
Our typical dairy shopping list includes goats' milk, soy-based milk for our toddler, goats' cheeses, and soy yoghurts (with goats' or sheep's yoghurt as a treat), as well as the more conventional cow-based products for the rest of the family.

I'll keep an eye out for Aldi's soy milk next time, though we'll still need a top-up shop elsewhere.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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It is not so very long ago that the proposed Sainsburys/Asda merger was deemed unacceptable by the body that reviewed this matter, so I do wonder how Aldi and Lidl would be viewed by that same body in the hypothetical scenario proposed in the opening posting of this thread?
 

Bletchleyite

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You're probably meaning products made with milk rather than milk drinks I imagine, but Aldi do sell soya milk, I buy lots of it. It's more likely to be near the tea and coffee than the refrigerated milk, going by the stores I'm used to. It's also far cheaper than the equivalent in a Sainsbury's Local!

They also don't really do gluten free, but it's a bit niche to work with their business model so I understand that. That's one reason the Morrisons next to the Aldi makes me shop at Aldi more often.
 

AlterEgo

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Both Aldi and Lidl are really good supermarkets now - I shop at both.

Still, I'd be aghast if Marks and Spencer Food Halls and Waitrose went - every so often, you want something just a bit better. M+S chocolate eclairs are like no other!
 

Mutant Lemming

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I suppose I'm being a bit of a snob but I would not be keen on giving up the choice to be left lumbered with a second rate Soviet style food store. It's all fine and well for those of you that love them but if you can afford it you go first class and don't go for second rate now don't you ?
 

Bletchleyite

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I suppose I'm being a bit of a snob but I would not be keen on giving up the choice to be left lumbered with a second rate Soviet style food store. It's all fine and well for those of you that love them but if you can afford it you go first class and don't go for second rate now don't you ?

I could probably afford to shop at Waitrose for everything, but it would in my view be rather a waste of money to do so.
 

trentside

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Lidl.. I love their bakery ! I'm addicted to those cheese diamonds. I was recently recommended their meat and I've given it a go. It's certainly cheaper. A lot of their products I really don't like. Even their Cien hand gel smells weird :/ They win blind tasting wine awards too and I recently tried their Chenin Blanc.

Had some issues with Lidl meat going bad very quickly, had “off” chicken on a few occasions which put us off a little bit. They do have decent Steak sometimes.

That hand gel is weird, I have some in my work bag at the moment - as you say it smells funny and is really watery.
 

AM9

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I could probably afford to shop at Waitrose for everything, but it would in my view be rather a waste of money to do so.
Every couple of years I go to Sainsbury and try to do a full shop and come away thinking that it isn't worth the 5% or so savings. Althougfh the London Colney branch has more line items and bigger stocks, I just can't get that bothered about how many different cereals or bags of crisps I need to have.
 

Bletchleyite

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Every couple of years I go to Sainsbury and try to do a full shop and come away thinking that it isn't worth the 5% or so savings

That's your mistake. Sainsbury's is near Waitrose prices with Tesco quality and service. Not great at all.

If you went to Asda, Aldi or Lidl you'd save a packet.
 

GusB

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I suppose I'm being a bit of a snob but I would not be keen on giving up the choice to be left lumbered with a second rate Soviet style food store. It's all fine and well for those of you that love them but if you can afford it you go first class and don't go for second rate now don't you ?
They're hardly "soviet style"! Some of the products they stock are better quality (and at a much lower price) than your standard supermarket fare. One example I can give is their quiches - the ones I bought in Aldi had far more flavour than their Asda equivalents. Of course some products may not be as good, but you won't find out unless you try them out.

To answer the OP's question - I think if we lumbered with only the discount supermarkets I probably would care. While I could probably get by with Aldi and Lidl alone, their product ranges are much more limited (eg, herbs and spices).
 

Baxenden Bank

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I have an Aldi (reasonable size) very slightly closer to home than Tesco (quite large).

I occasionally pop into Aldi to remind myself just how bad it is.
1) The cashier may be cheerful but throws the next customers shopping at me whilst I am still packing - it is very tempting to pack it into my bags as free groceries!
2) They don't do fresh bread, only plastic-bagged sliced.
3) They don't do fresh anything else either, other than fruit and veg. All vacuum packed or frozen for cooked meats and fish.
 

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I voted yes. There's lots of certain things you just can't find in any Aldi or Lidl. Out of those 2 though, I prefer Lidl as it stocks more "mainstream" stuff than Aldi, more of the time (Although Aldi is starting to stock more brands such as Coca Cola & Old ElPasso). They also don't do deliveries*, something Iceland does.

*Aldi does deliver specialbuys purchased from it's online store but that's not what I mean by deliveries.
 

ComUtoR

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Had some issues with Lidl meat going bad very quickly, had “off” chicken on a few occasions which put us off a little bit.

Food that goes 'off' quickly can be a good thing. Lidl bakery is fresh and barely lasts a day. I love those diamonds but you need to have them within a day of they start to turn. This is because the bakery doesn't chuck tons and tons of preservatives in. I find with milk I can get another week out of it if I keep it refrigerated but the second I leave it out for a few hours it turns. Same with bread. If I buy direct from the bakery sections the bread doesn't last but generic packaged loaves tend to hang around a bit. When I buy cheese from John Lewis, I have to eat it quick but anything from supermarket lasts for weeks :/

Potentially, with Lidl meat, it may be because they don't cram it full of preservatives or water.

Cheers for the heads up. I'll look out for it. My Lidl shops tend to be 'on demand' rather than stick in the fridge for a few days but well worth noting.
 

DynamicSpirit

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That's your mistake. Sainsbury's is near Waitrose prices with Tesco quality and service. Not great at all.

If you went to Asda, Aldi or Lidl you'd save a packet.

Interesting how perceptions differ. I usually shop at Sainsburys, partly because it's closest to my house, but also partly because I feel the own brand food at Sainsburys is usually higher quality - particularly for the instore bakery and for fresh fruit/veg. I go to LIDL for nuts - because LIDL has an excellent range of unprocessed raw nuts of different types, which no other supermarket seems able to match, and sometimes to Iceland to stock up on frozen food. And I make occasional forays to Tesco, ASDA and Morrisons to see if there's anything I'm missing and to compare prices. I have almost no experience of Aldi (don't think there's a store nearby).

In terms of quality ranking, I'd easily put Sainsburys top, Tesco slightly behind, ASDA and Morrisons a bit further behind, and LIDL firmly in the cheap-and-nasty category (except for their nuts).

Going into 'quality' supermarkets, I don't use M&S because, although their food is usually good quality, I don't regard it as worth the very high price differential to get marginally better quality than I can get at Sainsburys. And no Waitrose nearby so can't compare them.

In answer to the first post: Yes, if everything disappeared except LIDL and ALDI, I'd definitely notice and I'd be very unhappy.
 

Howardh

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There's one issue I have with Lidl, they have plastic bags for wrapping your fruit and veg in where paper bags would suffice, and the cucumbers, which have pretty darned good natural wrapping, are also plastic-wrapped! C'mon guys, the environment and all that! On the plus side they do leave plenty of boxes around so you can avoid plastic carrier-bags.
 
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