Rate the shops: posh or not

[Codswallop20]

I will start you off.

Level 1

Lidl, farmfoods

Level 2

Aldi, Iceland,

Level 3

Asda, Tesco

Level 4

Morrison's, Sainsbury's

Level 5

M&S

Level 6

Waitrose, Booths

Level 7

Harrods

Level 8

Fortnum and Mason

Discuss.

(Entirely light-hearted and for entertainment purposes only, couldn't actually care less and have no aspirations of posh!)

Inspired by the other posh thread, and FYI ferrero rocher are still posh enough to make me feel somewhat inadequate.

This is my take on it

Level 1

Iceland, farmfoods, Asda

Level 2

Aldi, Lidl,

Level 3

Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury

Level 4

M and S and Waitrose

Level 5

Booths, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason

oh ok then. in order of poshness, from lowest to highest:

iceland

Aldi & M&S are rungs above Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's.

I'd put Aldi and Lidl together at Level 2. Our local Sainsburys is definitely a level up from Tesco.

In North London it's definitely Waitrose as the poshest.
M&S always seemed a bit try hard.
Lots of co-ops and Tesco express/Sainsbury's local which are all fine. Little Waitrose a cut above!

Morrison’s is superior to Tesco, imo.

@skirk64 I take it you shop at the Spar then, and Iceland, if only for the Greggs pasty's.

@lemonroses
A local surgeon uses one pig to make sausages and cure hams that are shared around..

a local surgeon? Are you sure it's pork in those sausages?

Anyway, you win the prize for the funniest post, magnum of Asda extra special pink prosecco for you!

I agree it’s difficult to pull apart the brand and the individual store. Overall Sainsbury’s is superior to Tesco, but in my parents home town the SB is old and grotty and the Tesco spanking new and very well stocked.

I struggle with M&S. Its not directly comparable to the others.

I live in ROI now and the supermarkets are different, but Aldi is right up there. Beloved of the middle classes, seen as far superior to Tesco.

We have a Co op (formerly a Spar, huge improvement) round the corner and all the others except Booths within reach. We use Morrison’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The latter has the best choice of whiskies, and also 12 star Metaxa!

Sainsbury’s is posher than Tesco.

@mrschocolatte

I’ve always been slightly confused by Budgens. When I moved to London in the 90s there were loads of them in ‘nicer areas’ of London like Finchley. So I thought they were pretty posh. But having shopped there they certainly didn’t feel posh. More like a Coop. I love Booths! There aren’t any in the South so I buy all their stuff online from Amazon Fresh, along with bits from Morrison’. I like I can do a mix and match of bits and get that all in one weekly online shop.

I think Budgens is a franchise so maybe the shops reflect the local area more than centrally-owned chains. I used to live near one that was really grimy and definitely not posh in any way, but have seen one in Eton high street which looked v upmarket - deli-type stuff and fancy displays.

We have a rogue Sainsburys here, it's just been done out and is very, very fancy! The Home bit is like a full Habitat shop and the cosmetics area is like Boots, plus the Booze section is all lovely wooden shelves and artisanal drinks. In comparison our Tesco is an absolutely ginormous Wembley Stadium sized Tesco 'Extra' that's just one massive grotty warehouse!

Harrods food hall is much better than Fortnum & Mason.

It must depend where you live as the Morrisons near me are anything but posh! I have a Waitrose and Morrisons both within walking distance and they are poles apart.

@LemonRoses

Local shops aren’t on the list. Places like Goodwood farm shop and Sharphams are definitely nicer than supermarkets. Getting it from the farm down the road and through local ‘exchange of excess’ is best. We haven’t paid for eggs for years. We don’t buy much veg or fruit in summer/autumn and we grow our own pork.A local surgeon uses one pig to make sausages and cure hams that are shared around.. Lamb gets dropped off and the fish man brings locally caught fish and seafood around in his refrigerated van. Venison is road kill divided up by the surgeon if anyone drops off a carcass. Pheasant is freely available. Just need the local bakery, if you don’t make your own bread.

Marks and Spencer’s is mainly prepackaged items. Fortnum’s is nice for gifts. Rod’s is fun for a shop, when in town, but you’re not comparing like with like.

Booths isn’t available in the south, so less smart simply because of location; it’s fun for holidays and that’s their main market, isn’t it?

The rest is really down to the housekeepers choice and convenience.

Booths' main market is for those visiting the area on holidays? Because scummy northerners can't afford to shop there I suppose?

Jeez. Booths is my corner shop, I go pretty much every day

@Camomila

I would put aldi and lidl in tier 2, iceland and farm foods in tier 1.

Next tier Asda and Morissons, then Sainsbury's and Tesco together.

Also need a farmers market/organic veg van tier

Agree with this. I don’t even know what Booths is so I’m obviously not very posh!

It depends on who has the franchises for many, particularly with Budgen's, Coop, Spar etc.

And the big chains swap their produce (and prices) depending on the area so you are not comparing like for like.

What about Planet Organic?

@AnaCanDoOne

In my town Aldi and Lidl are full of shoppers and Tesco and Asda are full of shoplifters, so I'd adjust on that basis.

I've been to Harrods a few times but been too intimidated to go in Fortnum and Masons so I agree with you on that .

I work when I go into the office - a 15 minute walk from F&M - they can be a bit snobby but they're very nice!

I can't stand the Al-Fayed's after Dodi etc (that Diana memorial was awful to look at, in store), so although I have been to Harrods a few times I much prefer nearby Harvey Nicks!

@Codswallop20

Also surprised at the downgrade of Morrison's. My supermarket of choice as they actually have proper butchers, bakers and fishmongers whereas many others sell frozen defrosted fish eg. Sainsbury's, and I also think their own brand generics are better.

I actually used to really love Iceland as they are ethical and had some lovely stuff, but I think their advertising spoiled it for me!

Completely agree with you about Morrisons. Borne out by the fact that I live in a vair posh bit of the country, (and because I WFH I see them all) far more people here have Morrison’s delivered than anyone else - even Ocado now.

Yes Morrison’s is a very good supermarket compared to some.

@OpusAnglicanum

Harrods is more "designer" than truly posh

Harrods is a tacky tourist shop and not posh at all. I don’t know anyone who actually shops there any more.

So there.

Agreed. Fortnum's is much 'posher'.

I am rural Scotland now.
I've never shopped in Iceland so couldn't say (nor have I ever had a Nando's, taken an Uber, and I dream of cable / fibre broadband!)

I use Aldi mostly as their range limited but good. I cook from scratch mostly & batch cook so it suits me. It's a mix of quite poor (looking) folk and scruffy aristo types stocking up on gin and charcuterie.
What I save on my Aldi shop I use for yellow sticker items in M&S.

@StephenBelafonte

This is my take on it

Level 1

Iceland, farmfoods, Asda

Level 2

Aldi, Lidl,

Level 3

Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury

Level 4

M and S and Waitrose

Level 5

Booths, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason

moreorless right yes.

However quality. the Tescos near where DB lives in London they don't like at all (but no choice but to use it as not many other options), they've often said the vegetables etc aren't good quality.

Funnily enough I shop online a lot now and so do DP's who live fairly nearby and we both use Sainsburys and Tescos - Tescos are great - good vegetables and fruit and don't miss off or substitute items! I'm probably going to cancel the Sainsburys shop soon!

My local Morrison’s is an absolute shit hole. I’m amazed at people calling them posh 😂😂

@Ninkanink

Yes ALDI/LIDL are actually posh by virtue of the fact that many of the people who shop at Waitrose also routinely shop at one of those. The biggest crossover, if I remember correctly (although the stats would be a few years old by now).

The only Waitrose in my city is actually opposite an Aldi, which itself is on a small downmarket retail park that has also has a Poundstretcher, Greggs, KFC and homeware shop that's actually a level lower than even Matalan in naiceness, but strangely there's also a Majestic wine.

So if you live round there, you can shop very cheaply, or posh, but nothing in the middle. There isn't a Tesco, Morrisons or Asda for miles around that area.

The mention of Matalan has given me an idea for a spin off thread. Retail, the homeware version.

Matalan
Dunelm
Ikea
Home Sense
John Lewis
Next

Some others that I have better things to do than spend time thinking about.