----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Walkden" Subject: OT: ...they're good for your heart... (was Re: OT: PayPal alternative
> Hi, > > Monday, December 1, 2003, 6:32:51 PM, you wrote: > > > Have you ever bought a supermarket's own brand baked beans? > > > The supermarket is making a profit on both the sale and manufacture of the > > beans, whereas if you buy a brand name, the profits are split between the > > two companies. > > > But does this make it wrong or immoral for the supermarket to do this? > > Rather surprisingly, supermarkets don't make a profit on beans (I know > this doesn't affect the point of your reply). The cost of handling > each tin, including scanning and packing at the checkout, is more than > the markup. Competition is so fierce that they can't raise the price > to a profitable level, or decide not to stock them, because nobody > would shop at a supermarket that didn't sell beans, or sold them for a > lot more than their competitors (I exclude places like Fortnum & > Mason here). This is true for a surprising number of other items, too. Even more surprisingly, supermarkets don't actually manufacture anything, other than perhaps bakery goods. House brand products, be they tinned vegetables or whatever, are made by the same companies that make the brand name products. Sometimes, though not always, the quality is a grade below name brand. William Robb
