Thanks Terry, but I couldn't find a way I could instigate such a war, lol. We have had Adli in the US for many years, at least in my area , but not Lidl. Maybe we'll get Lidle here to battle with Aldi. Our other stores are not at all threatened by Aldi even though it's so much cheaper.
That's a shame Ruby, maybe Lidl will help, or maybe it's the British island mentality that is different from yours, I know our own Tesco chain tried to get into the US market but failed and subsequently left, Walmart doesn't really do that well in the UK, there must be something radically different about your shopping needs and habits, compared to ours?
Thanks Terry, now I am interested as to why Tesco didn't make it here and why Walmart didn't make it there. I wonder if their people lack the knowledge of what sells best in different areas or parts of the world. I wonder, because Walmart opened a small grocery store in my Connecticut town, just grocery and paper goods, cleaning, etc. Nothing else. Walmart is southern based and I noticed many of the foods were more typical of southern fare than up here. It struggled for awhile.
@Terry Page, I think you're on to something with the different mentality idea? Just look at the obesity problem this country is going through. I watch others at the grocery stores and restaurants, and people still eat as though they are working on the farms or other labor intense jobs. I've tried to explain to others that they their bodies do not need as much fuel in today's time. People use to get up in the early morning hours to start their workday, and it use to be late in the evenings when the work was done. So those people expended larger amounts of energy than what is necessary for today's workers. As a child that grew up on the outskirts of town or out in the country, it was unusual not to see chickens somewhere on the property of each family. For many of us, getting meat once or twice a week, was a sign of financial stability. My earliest memories are of working in the barn or the fields. Back then it was normal for mothers or grandmothers to offer food to everyone, because most people were always working it off through the day of hard labor. Now most people's jobs are much less physical, but their eating habits haven't changed to fit todays working requirements. A really good burger can be as high as 800 calories at your local burger shop, so I try to stay away from them. I tend to eat no more than 800 to 1000 calories a day, but then I'm a veggie person that eats meat occasionally. Too much heavy food causes me to be sluggish.
This may help Ruby http://is.gd/kShQI2 Walmart bought our supermarket chain called Asda, which tends towards fixed cheaper prices with few special offers, this may be the issue, because Aldi and Lidl have cut prices right back with no special offers so are in direct competition with Asda (Walmart)
I agree with all you say here Ina and the obesity situation has spread to the UK it's a big health issue here as well.
I don't know why I'm suddenly so interested in retail grocery stores, but apparently I am. Interesting article, thanks! I gathered from it that Tesco's big deal is the sale of ready made meals, which for some reason doesn't move very well in the US from the supermarkets. Except for Whole Foods, which was mentioned, Americans don't seem to be in the habit of doing this. Whole Foods' ready to go meals are absolutely delicious, well prepared and organic. They cater to a wealthier clientele true, but their food is really that good! Regular supermarkets' ready made deli items such as salads and specialty items are terrible in comparison, so it's no wonder we balk at picking up meals there. It would follow that we were also reluctant to pick up these meals at Tesco's, given our experience with ready made supermarket meals. If their offerings are better than what we have now, I wish they would try again.