It has been a while since supermarkets reminded us why they're so pernicious. So this article, from Workday Minnesota, is very welcome. Even more welcome is the covering of this issue by HumanRightsWatch who have links to some of Wal-Mart's Red-Scare training videos. It's almost like they're trying to tamp down their workers by calling unions "Socialist". More below the fold.
Update
Seems as if the British government is going to be spanking a few supermarkets after they shared pricing plans with their buddies. ... read more »

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Posted on 28 October, 2008 - 18:43

Credit: Abfab27

There have been a couple of articles in the British press recently, following up on the Competition Commission's report on the anti-competitive practices of UK supermarkets. The response tells a great deal about how supermarkets have managed to wiggle their way into our lives, and made themselves indispensable. ... read more »

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Posted on 17 February, 2008 - 17:54

For those who might be unfamiliar with the Alien vs Predator franchise, here's what you need to know: Predators are a race of creatures who hunt anything and everything in the universe, and whose society is built for the greater glory of the kill. Aliens, on the other hand, have acid for blood, are vicious killing machines, and were created by Predators to be worthy opponents. The tagline of the Alien vs Predator movies is this: "Whoever wins, we lose."

Which is what came to mind this morning as I flipped through the Financial Times, which announced that Wal-Mart was going to roll out a new range of stores in Phoenix, Arizona under the brand name "Marketside", in an attempt to rip the throat out of the UK supermarket giant, Tesco. The British company is churning out "Fresh and Easy" stores that are, quite successfully, taking market share from Wal-Mart. ... read more »

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Posted on 14 January, 2008 - 18:06

Prompted by a reader, I've realised that I've not yet posted this fantastic video by the good people at Free Range Studios. It's an oldie, but for a die-hard Star Wars junkie, this short gets closer to the spirit of the movie series than The Phantom Menace ever could.

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Posted on 7 December, 2007 - 18:01

The Financial Times carries a story in the King Kong Vs Godzilla vein. Wal-Mart, the world's largest private employer, is jumpy about the arrival of Tescos, the UK's largest supermarket chain, into the US market. The Walton empire is pondering how to develop new 'Wal-convenience' stores, along the same lines as the smaller 'Tesco Extra' stores in the UK, to fend off what is likely to be a very aggressive push from the UK firm. But just like the old Tokyo disaster movie, regardless of whether one or other side wins, the battleground is home to millions of ordinary people, whose architecture and lives are likely to be severely remodelled in the deathmatch. ... read more »

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Posted on 27 August, 2007 - 08:49

The British Food Standards Agency (FSA) have come out with some useful research on the nation’s health, and food poverty. The message from the media seems to be this: ‘the poor don’t have it as bad as we thought’.

To some extent this is a welcome message – it goes some way to countering the national sport, as British as cricket, of heaping contempt on poor people (though I suspect that it’ll take a little more than this report to make the practice disappear completely).

... read more »

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Posted on 17 July, 2007 - 18:39

So, John Mackey, Chief Executive Officer of Whole Foods Inc is in trouble. This is the John Mackey who has encouraged something of a cult of personality around his attempts to bring goodness back into the food system. This is also the same John Mackey who, under the pseudonym "Rahodeb", posted a number of taunts trashing his competitor, Wild Oats, while simultaneously praising himself and his haircut. This is the same John Mackey who later offered to buy Wild Oats for near $600 million. ... read more »

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Posted on 13 July, 2007 - 00:58

The New York Times recently carried the following story on protests in India:

NEW DELHI, Feb. 22 (Reuters) — Demonstrators waving banners and shouting slogans marched on government buildings here Thursday to protest the entry of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, into India.
Demonstrators in New Delhi Thursday protested the joint venture that will bring Wal-Mart to India.
Wal-Mart and a venture partner, Bharti Enterprises, are working on a deal that could change the face of the country’s $300 billion retail sector and has aroused fears of mass job losses. ... read more »

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Posted on 24 February, 2007 - 18:28

The Financial Times yesterday carried this announcement, on the expansion of the empire of supermarkets in India.

India opens western-style supermarkets

By Jo Johnson in New Delhi

India's national capital region will enter the modern retailing era today, with the opening of the first recognisably western-style supermarkets in this sprawling conurbation of 15m people.

At a preview of one of three stores that will open in Noida, a satellite city of Delhi, prices of key vegetables were about half those of other grocers in the capital, a big draw in such a cost-sensitive market. ... read more »

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Posted on 31 January, 2007 - 18:44

The New Economics Foundation is

an independent think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being.

They've got some great analysis about the negative impact of supermarkets in Britain and, more importantly, some fine research on why local markets are better for the economy, have more choice, and are more racially diverse.

More at
http://www.neweconomics.org/

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Posted on 1 December, 2006 - 10:14