With luck, this will be the last time I wrote a post such as this before Mercadona is meant to open later this year.
Milk
Why does the price of milk vary from one Hiperdino supermarket to another so much? Is it because a) the managers at each store undertake ongoing consumer surveys and know which price to charge to maximise profit; or b) the managers of these same stores use random number tables and dartboards to work out prices. Somehow, I don’t believe that the answer is a).
Not only do the prices vary between stores; within the same store, pasteurised milk prices fluctuate more than that of Brent Crude or petrol prices on the forecourt! The most ludicrous price I have seen as recently as yesterday was a 30 cent plus difference between the price of full fat and semi-skimmed pasteurised milk at Superdino in PdC.
Hiperdino : the mystery of the missing cereals
I have lost count now of how many months it has been since Hiperdino had any own brand cereals in store. The price difference between “white label” (supermarket own brand) and branded goods is rather bigger here than in the UK, so it makes quite a difference to the price of shopping.
We both enjoy cereals with red fruit and the white label product used to cost €2.46 in a big Hiperdino and just over €3 in a Hiperdino Express (Mercadona: €1.86). The price came down gradually last year to €1.91, which is fine. But then the product disappeared off the shelves, along with cornflakes, rice crispies, etc. If I wish to buy red berry cereal at Hiperdino, I now need to pay €2.86 for Kelloggs….forget it!
Spar : Continuing its Trip to Lala Land
In fairness to Hiperdino, we have seen their prices come down for many goods in 2013, so credit where it’s due. Spar, by contrast, seems to operate an incredibly expensive business model (why are there two Spar stores within 100m of each other on Calle Doramas and Calle Bernegal in PdC?) with prices to match. I understand charging more in tourist areas – they are in business, after all – but the prices are no better in Eurospar at Macher. If we go back to red cereals, Spar have finally started their own brand red berry cereals, but at a price HIGHER than the Kelloggs product in Superdino!
Mercadona
Well, dear readers, if you thought that Lidl was mayhem in Arrecife, wait until Mercadona opens. If Mercadona really does finally happen this year, then Hiperdino and especially Spar could be hit hard, the latter deservedly so.
