Discount chain Aldi has hit back at research published in The Grocer last week, which purported to show that it is a pricier outlet than any of the major high-street multiples.
The survey compared prices across a basket of goods from the big-four supermarkets’ bottom-of-the range, budget sub-brands with basic items from Aldi and Lidl.
The study found that Asda worked out the cheapest in the survey, which selected 50 essential items and then chose 33 that were available from all seven stores; Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Netto, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Aldi’s basket was the dearest - almost £5 more expensive than its nearest rival and a full 61 per cent more expensive than at Asda.
However, an Aldi spokeswoman told freshinfo that the survey had not been a fair comparison. “This survey did not look at like-for-like products,” she said. “In order for it to be fair, our products needed to have been compared with the other retailers’ middle-of-the-range or top-of-the range products, not their budget lines. This survey has not compared products of the same quality. Another study recently that compared quality and price found that at the same price as another retailer’s jam, Aldi jam had much higher fruit content. That is why it is really important in these studies to compare quality, as well as price. If you want a high-quality product, then Aldi is the best value.”
Meanwhile, a survey carried out by consumer association Which? and also published last week found that Aldi was the cheapest supermarket. The study looked at supermarket shopping in the Lancashire town of Bolton and found that a basket of everyday items, including staples such as white potatoes, cost £38.04 at Aldi, while the same basket of goods cost more than £46 at each of the major multiples, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
A spokesman for Which? said: “If you are heading out to the supermarket this week to stock up for Christmas, you can save more than a quarter on your food bill. Clearly there is money to be saved in these credit crunch times, if people are prepared to shop around and choose some own brands.”
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