I went into a Lidl store for the first time yesterday. I had no idea what it is, any more than I knew what an Aldi store is the first (and last) time I went into one. I was shocked that this is the way the grocery business is going — extremely wide aisles, not much choice, and sorry looking stuff.
However, I was not too proud to help myself to the 49-cent avocados, which surely were a loss leader. As I waited at the checkout, I noticed a big sign that says, “Carefully curated for you.” That, of course, means that they don’t have everything. It means that they have only what they can sell for cheap.
Thanks, but I don’t want my groceries “curated” for cheapness. Granted, a Lidl store might be a good thing for people who increasingly buy their groceries at stores like Dollar General, which have no fresh food. Lidl does seem to have fast-moving produce, even if it’s not the best quality.
Now I’m even more concerned about the future of Whole Foods. And I wish I liked gardening a whole lot more than I actually do. Especially during the summer, when the sun is hot and the weeds are vigorous, I’m a kitchen creature, not a garden creature.
4 Comments
Well, 49 cent avocado is nothing to sneeze at so grab and run. At least you know you can check in once in awhile and see whats worth your time. Avocados are running anywhere from $1.49 to 2.79 each, here.
I stopped buying avocadoes for a while, because not only did the price get above $2, the quality didn’t look great. They’ve come back down to the $1.59 range now, for the most part. Was there some sort of disaster with the avocado crop? California? Mexico?
Yes, there was a disaster in both Mexico & US re Avocados. I don’t recall when.
Amazon is vertically integrating across multiple industrial sectors and strangling out the competition. Developing its own transportation service will force Walmart to either buy one of the two majors or force the two majors to merge. Before you know it, fresh food will be available alongside sweet new tech gear made in China or wherever.
Buyers are having an easy time getting goods but labor, especially low skilled labor, is going to really be hurting when it comes to finding work and that should be the scary part. I drove around a shopping center that opened less than ten years ago. Most of the space is for lease and another store is in the process of closing.
I’m really thinking no one on either side of the political fence cares about the working poor. Blah organic blah locally grown blah expensive food is going to kill off poor people as fast as lobbyists and multiple insurance providers for each member of one family and twelve separate triage stations in every airport, I mean hospital. At least they’ll all get fat at home instead of dealing with public shame. Those motorized shopping carts are things of the past.
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