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BRITISH TYCOON STELIOS Haji-Ioannou, founder of no-frills airline easyJet, opened a pilot budget supermarket today in London in an attempt to crack the country’s booming discount grocery sector.
The neighbourhood-sized store in Park Royal, northwest London, will offer around 80 low-priced products, with all items costing only 25p (33c) throughout February as an introductory offer.
“This is another way the easy brand can serve the less well-off,” said Haji-Ioannou.
“Given my experience in distributing food for free in Greece and Cyprus, this is a more commercial attempt to sell basic food.”
Inside the store, whose motto boasts “No expensive brands, just food honestly priced”, shoppers will be able to browse essentials such as tea, pasta, potatoes and tinned food, but only a very limited selection of fresh vegetables and no fresh meat.
Haji-Ioannou launched easyJet in 1995, and its distinctive orange and white logo, which also adorns the easyFoodstore supermarket, is now seen on 221 aircraft, serving 134 destinations in 32 countries.
Other brands in the “easy” range include buses, hotels, gyms and estate agents, helping the founder amass a fortune of around $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Budget supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi have gained market share in Britain since the financial crisis, and now account for 10% of grocery sales, double their share three years ago.
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Easyjet opens “pilot budget supermarket” !
Hope it takes off
If everything is that cheap, wonder what gutter they are scrapping to food from to fill the bags, boxes & tins
Yeah I was thinking that myself. Although not many people really know where their food has been. Unless you raise it, feed it kill it etc. you have no idea what has been done to your food.
doesn’t really work like that, the horse meat saga showed us that. More expensive places like tesco had horse meat burgers, aldi, lidl etc fine, paying premium doesn’t mean getting it
@ Mick H.
Isn’t that what they used to say about Lidl and Aldi when they started up here? – and these are just introductory promotional prices, just grocery snobbery, reminds me of the ex M&S shoppers who were hit by the crash, at the Lidi till filling up their worn out M&S bags, I thought it was a myth till I witnessed a couple doing it myself.
An airline supermarket? I wonder can only one trolley fit down an aisle at one time
Turbulent market, can’t see it taking off… .I’ll get my coat.
Aldi and Lidl sell some items for that price.
Aldi & lidl are no longer cheap, as bad as the rest, if not worse if you compare prices in their chains across europe
Aldi and Lidl prices have definitely increased over the last 2 years. Everytime you go in things are gone up 20-30c. I’m just back from Germany and I was in an Aldi store. It’s a lot cheaper than Ireland.
That’s baloney, I shop around and have for years, and I never get used to the surprise at the till when the cashier announces the final tab in Adi or Lidl compared to the likes of Tesco, the opposite has happened in fact, the competition who were ripping us off for years pre-Ald/Lidl have had their hand forced and have been reducing THEIR prices to match theirs.
Aldi* – wonderful editing facility at the the Journal, can’t edit or delete comments after you post them like just about very other website, ridiculous.
If you buy Tesco own brand you will pay the same as Aldi brand. Obviously in Tesco when you buy the likes of Kelloggs, Heinz and Kerry gold you will pay more. Don’t confuse the two at the till.
It’ll neva happen in Ireland
Ryanair will have a 20c one next week.. €5 to you a basket it tho.
€10 to use the jax
Mmmmm.
Yum Yum
Cheap mass produced nutrient devoid food.
Does it turn all it’s consumers EasyOrange?
Remember “soilent Green”
IT’S PEOPLE!!!!!
Agent Orange?
Purchasing power, low margins, economies of scale and approaching food from a pure utility perspective might make this financially viable. I’d be inclined to keep an open mind. Other retail, multiples make exploitative levels of profits.
Personally, I’m not a snob.
25p = 33c, I can’t imagine getting good quality food for that amount.
I’d guess tinned dregs would be the primary produce.
You can get fine cans of peas, beans, and soups for in around that between Tesco/lidl. Same goes for biscuits and crackers. Noodles. Lidl do their super 6 deals of fresh fruit too. Why would the quality be questionable when none of the above cost any great sum to produce and sell?
All processed.food full of added sugar and salt and God knows what else. Food I wouldn’t feed to my dog never mind human passengers. Typical greedy Fu€k. This can only add more to the misery of the poorest in society making them sick so as to make more money for the fu€king medical profession who are overpaid and another crowd of greedy wank€rs. A cheap dog biscuit would be a healthier option.
“all items costing only 25p (33c) throughout February as an introductory offer.”
Are you off your trolly
That’s going straight in my basket
It’ll never take off!
Horse Hamburgers, Deluxe Squirrel and Cat Tail Soup
I’d eat horse or squirrel. I’d imagine cat wouldn’t be nice as they’re carnivores.
Better than the muck coming out of China, Asia, and the US all gm foods including parts of Europe. Grow your own at least you know what you are eating
Selling just dry and canned goods,no meat so you’ll have to settle for squirrel flavoured beans!
Food content of about 2% in its products
Oh, so you were involved in the food preparation, ya? You shoulda said!
Food? I’d say they mean ”food”
I thought this was something that he tried years ago?!
All the time distancing people from non processed food.. Sick..
Only thing is the staff might tell you to f*ck off though
They may be right in your case!!
If this takes off the food will be flying off the shelves.
I saw one of his employees upholding company rules from his manual and he came along and destroyed her and sucked up to a knob who was in the wrong. A big mammys boy, i cant see this taking off !
have your say