Brexit now affecting supermarkets?

[e1y1]

Tesco has dropped all 200 of Unilever's brands from store shelves, over a dispute over pricing.

Unilever is blaming Brexit as the reason for wanting a 10% price increase for supply of it's products.

Whereas, MPs are saying Unilever are just using Brexit as a smokescreen to raise prices.

Unilever own some of the biggest brands in the UK - Persil, PG Tips, Dove, Hellmans etc.

And with Tesco's being the UKs biggest supermarket chain, this can't be good (other supermarkets have also said they would drop the brands as opposed to absorbing a price hike).

Do you think Brexit is really now affecting our supermarket shelves?

Sorry for the source (but would imagine it's in others too as heard it on the radio) HERE

Yes but can you imagine France allowing Scotland in, it would be like just telling le pen to have at it..

They were ever accepted they would have to accept the euro.

Hmm. The way things are going I think the Euro would be a better choice than the pound...

Scotland would sink
I learnt in geography in school that actually England is sinking and becoming smaller, while Scotland is getting bigger and rising...

Why Gow?

on a more gluttonous note, I really fancy a Helman's mayo and chicken sandwich. I'm not at all brand loyal but helman's is simply the best unless home made.

I think May is a more sophisticated political operator than Sturgeon anyway. She's already wrapping her up like a kipper.

No she is not.

She is making a right hash of Brexit.

Remember who set up the child abuse inquiry that's on the rocks and is being criticised for its 'scope being too wide and unmanageable' (to use the words of the Sun Editorial on the matter in a call to ditch the inquiry).

Brexit is worse.

So far there is not one decision that she has made that isn't about party politics and in the national interest. Her insistence in trying to keep control herself is leading to wide spread dissent and fuelling both uncertainty and concerns.

I think the idea that May is some kind of wiley genius has long since been disproved.

And the parity for the Euro and the Pound at the moment offers an ideal opportunity to jump to the Euro.

Brexit aside, having worked at the Unilever end of deals with the likes of Tesco (not for Unilever) and seeing how much they've pushed the likes of small farmers, Im all for Unilever in this battle.

Tesco can point out all they like about how Unilever hadn't reduced prices in the good times, but then you don't see them doing it either. Though Tesco do have that giant black hole in their accounts to fill which is more important than consumers for them. They won't accept the higher price though because it's more likely to hit their profits. A lot of people are willing to pay more for a brand they like if they have to, which leaves less money to spend elsewhere.

There'll be other companies watching this now to see how likely they can pull this off themselves.

There's a huge swathe of female pensioners who only worked a couple of years, had kids and then never went back. Why do they get to have a nice big cushy pension? It boils my blood.

They don't have a nice big cushy pension though. They mostly rely on their husbands/partners pension. My mum worked throughout all her child bearing years, barring maternity leave. She didn't get a widow's pension when my father died. She has an adequate pension that no longer exists when she dies. She is also mortgage free and enjoys free travel throughout Ireland, like everyone else her age!

Catalans are pro EU though. The argument was pre Brexit that they would push for Independence.

Don't accept the demographic statements of pollsters about the referendum – no evidence, but I know plenty of my age group (free TV licence) who voted Remain and lots of youngsters who voted Leave. Not scientific, but as the 'proper' Pollsters got the last election and the Referendum results wrong, don't see how they can be trusted.

Erm, do you not think it might be that the folk you know aren't representative? The elderly in my family actually had a 100% remain vote record between them: a shining example to the generations below, who alas could not claim such a thing. Granted, there are fewer of them than there are of any other generation, but nonetheless everybody I'm related to who is 75+ was Remain. But you know, we're not everyone. Most of my family also voted Labour at the last general election but we still seem to have ended up with a Not Labour government,

My mother stopped working for good when she was 23, Bowie. Now they are in the US, where things have been different for a while. No one expects to retire at 60 and never work again at anything unless they are rich. My uncle is a pharmacist and he's just now about to retire (in January) and he's 68. People in manual professions retrain at something but the idea that you just stop work forever is ludicrous as most realise that's not sustainable. My father had a job that started out manual (working on oil rigs) but then finished a couple of degrees and worked in an office until he was 67. His brother was still teaching when he had a heart attack and died at the age of 62 (what happened was that his brother's wife was 12 years older than he was. She had a stroke and died. He simply did not want to live without her so stopped treating his diabetes, heart condition and high blood pressure). His sisters were a teacher and a social worker respectively and didn't retire until they were 66 and 67.

But plenty of women like my mother didn't work outside the home for very long (and she's not even a baby boomer, she was born a few months before the US entered WWII).

Agree with you Hyacinth, which is why I said 'not scientific'.

I tried to be a shining example but in the family no-one took much notice - that's Pops being Pops as far as they're concerned.

BiL however asked his children how to vote and thus voted Remain.

Red seriously you think it's time to judge May on Brexit? Far far too early. It will take time and negotiation and of course she isn't going to show her hand now even as labour play ridiculous stunts.

No one knows how it will pan out in the end. No one not me or you or your friends or May or Sturgeon or anyone.

She might make a hash of it but it's far too bloody early to judge.

Other countries might seek referendums France is probably another terrorist attack from a far right victory and Merkel is very unpopular in Germany.

Things change, countries change and alliances change. If poor Scotland is subject to another referendum and vote out well good luck to them.

The euro will go up and down just like all currencies it's not a panacea of perfection. It was utterly crap a few years ago.

Always makes me when people slag off whole groups of people so 'pensioners' as if they are all thinking and voting alike. Such stupid and lazy stereotypes.

Brexit was obviously just a viral marketing campaign for Marmite to appeal to the younger generation. In a few months there'll be a big reveal. Just you all wait.

From the Evening Standard today:

In what other consumer industry do you see a supplier demand — take it or leave it — an instant 10% price rise?

If you thought we had it bad, pity the Latin Americans, where Unilever just increased prices by 15.5% , also blaming currency devaluation.

Sure, currency-related costs for some raw materials have risen post-Brexit, but Unilever is whacking up everything — whether from Burton-on-Trent or Brussels.

Funnily enough, nobody recalls any rush by Unilever to cut prices when the pound was strong.

That’s why its profit margins are presently around 15%: Tesco’s are 1.8%. Now, you decide, who can best afford to take the brunt of the currency hit and save consumers the pain?

www.standard.co.uk/business/jim-armitage-this-marmite-squeeze-kills-off-the-cuddly-image-of-unilever-a3368276.html

And the dispute is over! Who would have thought it.

I'm glad, we are over reliant on imported food and thus will force us to be more efficient and buy British. With the current global situation I can't believe you're whining about marmite. I don't care if prices go up I believe out of the EU is safer and economically wiser in the long run.

Britain does not produce enough food to feed its population.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/07/britain-food-self-sufficiency-decline-imports-nfu

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/515048/food-farming-stats-release-07apr16.pdf

www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/issue/uk.html

You "don't care" if prices go up? You don't care that many people living on the breadline already will go hungry? That there are already people including children with malnutrition due to not being able to afford food and not being able to access alternatives eg food banks?

Presumably you're not living below the poverty line, so the price increases won't put you at risk of starving or losing your home.

And Leavers wonder why they have a reputation for being callous.

Who "won" though dontpanic

I haven't read the whole thread as I just know it would be make my blood boil.
The value of the pound has dropped 17 per cent since the vote
Similar falls against the dollar. We import lots of products therefore prices will rise. We import oil which is makes deliveries much more expensive.
This is before we are even out. There are a million other factors.
What did you think would happen?

Dontpanicpyke
Red seriously you think it's time to judge May on Brexit? Far far too early. It will take time and negotiation and of course she isn't going to show her hand now even as labour play ridiculous stunts.

Yes I do. Very much so. Her tone, approach and actions so far have further driven the wedge into this country and are fuelling - not bridging divides. The solution is not to piss off people or try and silence them. It will have the opposite affect to the one you are trying to achieve.

Her success on Brexit, is not just about the ability to deliver Brexit, but also about social cohesion. You don't get that by doing speaks which draw on them and us and give the rest of the world you are unwelcoming to outsiders. Our international reputation has been very much built on the idea of the 'citizen of the world'.

This is a PM who said that someone's legal right to bring a court case is "subverting democracy". This is downright DANGEROUS and incorrect. It is undermining the very rule of law.

She also had an open revolt from her own MPs this week - including many Leave voters - which forced her to back down.

I think I've counted 3 climb downs in the past week. There have been leaks or funny business from the Treasury, the Home Office and the FCO (the LSE affair). Her ministers don't know what the bloody hell they are talking about and keep coming out with factual incorrect stuff. She's had to refute numerous comments they have made. Its starting to add up to a lack of judgment.

She is making enemies left right and centre. Sturgeon, would not have felt as forced to make a statement about a possible IndyRef 2 if May had not gone back on her word about working closely with Scotland and instead slagged off nationalists (which is a bit rich as the EU referendum was in no small point fuelled by English nationalism).

One or two incidents she could get away with as being human. This is not on that scale. Its adding up to a catalogue of errors which do not look good and will inevitably have consequences.

She need a massive reversal of that in order to win the trust of people and build a consensus towards Brexit.

She is putting politic interest ahead of the national interest and its starting to show. It will become more and more apparent if she does not start listening to some of those voices. They are not trying to sabotage Brexit and that accusation is political in its own right.

Now is a very appropriate time to be raising concerns about her ability to deliver Brexit. This is regardless of whether you are a Leaver or a Remainer.

I hope that answers your question comprehensively enough.

This is just the start of things to come. We all knew the perils of Brexit.

On the Scotland debate, how do they plan to tackle their debt? Scotland is £15 billion in debt and its deficit is almost twice as large as the UK.

Oh and about showing her hand.

Good point made in the commons yesterday that her hand will be leaked all over the press at some point anyway.

And that showing your hand is precisely what you need to show in negotiations. That kind of logic is actually not terribly helpful in negotiations and shows a very poor level of understanding about them.

In terms of what her 'cards' are, half of the are nonsense if you know your stuff (and the EU do), several are at best weak and oh there are no really good ones. All the talk of cards is actually politically motivated for the UK not the EU.

She is not grasping the politics going on in the EU and is only focusing on domestic politics when she needs to be sensitive to the needs of both.

You "don't care" if prices go up? You don't care that many people living on the breadline already will go hungry? That there are already people including children with malnutrition due to not being able to afford food and not being able to access alternatives eg food banks?

sorry but prices went up in 2008 due to the banking crash - everything went up by a huge amount. It didn't help that suddenly a huge influx of people who were very poor from poor ee countries were allowed to come to the UK at the time of crisis and compete at the bottom for reduced food etc.

yes I am worried if prices go up, and yes I worry if there are even more people at the bottom from the EU allowed to come here to compete for scraps

As Frank Field said - vote leave for the poor. Its the poor who wanted to leave and its the poor who have been the hardest hit.

She is not grasping the politics going on in the EU

^^ yes indeed the politics being " we are Alcatraz and no one can ever leave or escape" what a lovely club to be part of

The politics of - social, economic catastrophe.

Her tone, approach and actions so far have further driven the wedge into this country and are fuelling - not bridging divides

Perhaps but not as bad as Blair and Gordon Brown? Politicians who wrote off half voting nation as bigots, ignored and suppressed them.

Do you REALLY think that even if we Leave the EU we will not be stuffed by the collapse of the EU and in turn the Eurozone?

Great real.

We go down with that, in or out of the EU.